


Tales of Majora

by SkyWrites



Category: Tales of Symphonia, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Genre: Angst, Clock town, F/M, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-10
Updated: 2019-12-10
Packaged: 2021-02-26 19:27:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 24,844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21743875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkyWrites/pseuds/SkyWrites
Summary: Lost and cursed to be a Deku Shrub, Lloyd finds his way to a strange place called Clock Town. Here the moon hangs heavy and threatens disaster. The only one to offer him solace is the innkeeper.The moon will take all of Clock Town and the innkeeper with it. Over and over again.
Relationships: Colette Brunel/Lloyd Irving, Sheena Fujibayashi & Zelos Wilder
Comments: 18
Kudos: 9





	1. The First Day

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Darkhymns](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darkhymns/gifts).



> If this seems like an incredibly specific crossover, it is! It's an early Christmas gift to the love of my life and a good friend of mine. 
> 
> This started out as a short story but quickly grew out of control. Expect Symphonia characters in a Majora's Mask setting. The major focus will be the ship. 
> 
> To Darkhymns, I love you more than anything, and I hope that love shines through here for the rest of time. 
> 
> To Frayed-Symphony, you've been the best friend I could ask for and have always worked hard on your art for us, so I wanted to repay you with hard work of my own!
> 
> And if you're not either of those two, I hope you enjoy anyways. Thank you for reading.

“You’ve met with a terrible fate, haven’t you?” that weird salesman had said. Something told Lloyd he’d be hearing it a lot more. Like it wasn’t quite going to be nearly as original and cool as it had initially sounded in his head after the billionth time. 

But that wasn’t important. 

The important thing was that he was in a strange new town and in a strange new body. Some blonde-haired kid in an incredibly creepy mask messed with him in a forest nearby. Stole his ocarina and spooked his dog, Noishe. Mithos, the little fairies had called him.

Why was he so mean!? Why did he pick on Lloyd who was just minding his own business? Why put this curse on him? All he wanted to do was get his stuff back… 

“Hm? Hello?” a light and airy voice said. “Um… little Deku? Did you… need something? Or, um…” 

Lloyd’s wooden eyelids snapped open. He looked up at the desk towering over him, at the blonde girl looking down at him with curious blue eyes. He had rung the bell a while ago, but it was too hard to see over the counter. 

_‘Oh, sorry! I just wanted to ask about a room!_ ’ Lloyd tried to say, but he couldn’t form the words with his weird Deku mouth. It just came out as a bunch of awkward jumbled mumbles. 

“Uh… Um…” the innkeeper looked around nervously, as if there was a Deku translator around that could save her from this awkward situation. Unfortunately, even other Dekus couldn’t understand Lloyd.

This body was so strange. He felt so stiff, so small, so… weak. He couldn’t even figure out how to talk. He just wanted a place to stay. Some little kid, Genis, told him about this inn. He was the leader of a bunch of little street orphans in something called the Bomber’s Guild… Lloyd didn’t get it. The kid seemed like a jerk, but he was also helpful? Even when Lloyd couldn’t figure out how to speak.

“I, um, I assume you must want a room, right?” the innkeeper finally blurted out, brushing a strand of hair out of her face after looking back and forth so much. “You _are_ at an inn… that would make sense…”

Lloyd nodded as enthusiastically as he could. _‘Yes! Exactly! A place to stay would make this whole stupid curse thing not feel so bad!’_ Once again, it just came out as a bunch of strange hollow wood whistling noises.

The innkeeper smiled, her face brighter than even that awful moon in the sky. She seemed to finally understand at least some of that. Man, she was really cute…

“Okay! Great! We have a room open for you! How many days would you like to stay?” 

_‘Hm… I think three days is all I have…’_ Lloyd mumbled to himself. _‘So… three days, please?’_ He held out three wooden fingers, nodding to himself, proud he could actually move these weird things and didn’t count wrong. 

“Three days, huh? Just in time for the festival…” she clutched at her dress with one hand, trying to look as happy as before. Seemed the thought of the festival made her nervous. That moon… “Um, that’s fine! Usually we’d be packed before then, but not many people seem to want to come this year… so, that’ll be sixty Rupees please!” 

_‘Geez. Not a bad price. Let me just get my wallet…’_ Lloyd reached for the pocket at his overalls, where his sheaths used to be, before realizing… ‘ _Oh no… my pockets aren’t here anymore! My wallet isn’t here anymore! Oh, maaaaaan!’_

“Um...” The innkeeper tilted her head, eyes shining with worry. “I’m sorry if this is really intrusive of me or if I’m wrong but… do you not have the money?”

Lloyd looked down at the floor, dejected and embarrassed. He didn’t even want to see this girl’s pretty face. She must have thought he was a weird idiot. ‘ _Agh! I don’t. I’m sorry.’_

The innkeeper’s face hardened. Those blue eyes of hers turned stern. Was she going to yell at Lloyd for being stupid? He deserved it. She looked around one more time, and this time, looked happy no one was around.

“You can stay for free. Or you can pay us back later if you get any money. It’s okay.” 

Were Lloyd’s wooden ears hearing things wrong? ‘ _Huh!? Really?! Is that okay?!_ ’ 

There was no way she could understand the strange noises coming out of his nozzle-mouth, but the innkeeper was doing a great job at guessing. “It’ll be okay. My grandma might get a little upset if she found out, so don’t bring it up oka-” 

She looked over Lloyd again, noting the gibberish noises. 

“Well, I guess you can’t tell her anyway. So that’s perfect!” She smiled and then frowned nervously. “I-I’m sorry! I guess, maybe that’s not perfect for you… Sorry, what a horrible thing to say…”

Lloyd waved it off. ‘ _Eh! It’s whatever. At least I’m getting a free room out of it!’_ And because he’d been feeling a little lonely, and a little upset with this whole curse deal, he figured he could let himself have this. She wouldn’t understand. ‘ _Besides, you’re so cute and sweet…’_

For whatever reason, the innkeeper’s face turned a shade of red. She didn’t understand him did she?! No way, right?! Oh, man, no way… Was he blushing now too? Can Dekus even blush???

“I-I don’t know what you said,” the innkeeper finally admitted, a hitch in her breath. “But um, it sounded nice, I think!” She shook her head, blonde hair sparkling under the rays of light from the window nearby. “Anyways, can I get your name? I’ll write you down and put in some Rupees from my own savings, so you’ll be a real guest.”

Lloyd looked up at her silently. Frustration clearly etched into his wooden mask of a face. _‘Lloyd! I’m Lloyd!... But it’s still not coming out right…’_

“I’m so sorry,” the innkeeper repeated for the thousandth time now. “I couldn’t get that… can you write? I have the registration papers right up here, and an ink quill!”

‘ _Oh! That’d be perfect! I can write! … I think. Maybe. These fingers are still a little weird to me. But, uh….’_ He looked up at the counter. He couldn’t see anything on it, much less reach it. 

“Ah! Sorry,” she said again. The innkeeper quickly scurried past the counter and onto Lloyd’s side, practically tripping over herself as she did so. She bent down, bits of her hair tickling Lloyd’s cheeks, before stopping herself. “Um… sorry, I should have asked. Is it okay if I pick you up?”

Lloyd never nodded faster in his life. 

She smiled, and once again, Lloyd forgot he was even cursed for a moment, lost in that warm light she radiated. With a tiny grunt, she picked him up by his arms and hefted him up onto the counter. Her touch was so soft, so gentle, even against his rough bark-skin. 

“Wow! You’re surprisingly light! I’ve never picked up a Deku before…” She looked over him, now finally at eye level with Lloyd. “In fact, I’ve never seen a Deku with such pretty bright red leaves like you do! Or even the brown ones at your head… you look like you belong in fall, hehe!” 

Lloyd wondered once more if Dekus could blush. He hadn’t really gotten a chance to see himself in all the chaos of everything. He worried he’d be an ugly little thing. But, this girl… she seemed to really, honestly, like him! It almost made this curse worth it. 

With way more of a struggle than he would have liked, Lloyd attempted to sign his name on the paper. Blotches of ink dripped and fell and stained his bark. _‘Ugh! This is so stupid! Just…. Write! Lloyd! My name is Lloyd!’_

“Mmm, are you, um… doing okay?” the innkeeper peered over Lloyd’s shoulder, straining to read what he wrote. “Um… Goid? Goyd? Is that your name?” 

‘ _No! It’s! It’s Lloyd! I just… this stupid body…’_ He sighed heavily, his wooden shoulders slumping. _‘Yeah. Okay. Fine. I’m Goid.’_

She smiled again, and whatever embarrassment he had felt before melted away. “Goid! What a cute name for a Deku! I’m so glad I’m getting to know you. I’ll try my best not to forget!” She blinked, gears turning in her brain as she realized something. “Oh, I’m sorry! I’ve never told you my name! I’m Colette.” 

‘ _Colette? That’s a pretty name,’_ Lloyd mumbled aloud, pleased she couldn’t understand. Sadly, he got the feeling she wouldn’t be remembering his name for long. Something awful was going on in this town…

“Do you need help getting down, Goid?” Colette asked.

‘ _Not at all!’_ Lloyd admitted. _‘But I certainly won’t complain if you want to pick me up again.’_

“That sounds like a yes to me!” Colette said with a giggle. Her sweet breath hit his face. His head became heavy, woozy. This girl was too much for him… 

His feet finally back on solid ground, Lloyd couldn’t help but feel a bit greedy. Her warm touch left him feeling so cold and hollow like the Deku he was. If only…

“Here, let me help you show you to your room, Goid,” Colette said, taking his hand in hers. “It’s up the stairs and you might need some help.” Warmth filled him again. Lloyd wondered if he was smiling. Stairs were still a tricky business with his stubby little legs… 

Things might have been bad. Things might have been the scariest they’d ever been for him! Although, Lloyd got the feeling that things were scary for Colette too. Maybe that’s why she was getting so close to a strange Deku Scrub? Who knows. But meeting her had been one of the only good things to happen in the past day, and he’d be damned if he wouldn’t appreciate that. 

What would become of him over the next few days? More importantly... 

What would become of her?


	2. The Second Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [A relaxing Clock Town remix by Theophany. Both albums were major sources of inspiration but this song especially so.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6kOHIVyNP4)
> 
> [ Theophany's Observatory Remix. Highly recommended. ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_L2hFH8tYOo)

He woke up the next morning feeling as stiff as a tree. The bed was soft. Warm. He wasn’t going to complain, but it was his body that wasn’t right. It was like he was meant to sleep in the dirt up right. Ugh. Being cursed sucks!! Lloyd had always heard about it and thought to himself, _‘It can’t be THAT bad.’_ But then he realized how curses stick with you. How even a night’s sleep won’t let you escape from its twisted branches.

At the very least, Colette the innkeeper, made breakfast for him. It wasn’t the best thing he’d ever tasted, just some hot soggy oats with a sprig of sugar here and there. On the bright side, he could just guzzle it down his little nozzle-mouth with ease. Were Dekus supposed to eat food like this??? Neither him or Colette knew, but he was happy anyway. And she was happy to help. For once, he didn’t feel quite as empty and cold inside. 

He waved goodbye to her as he left the inn, and she cheerily replied with a wave of her own. Once he looked up into the chill morning skies, that warmth evaporated. The moon was bigger. No, it was closer. His stiff body filled with dread at the thought. It wasn’t really going to fall was it? Why did it have such a terrifying face like that? He’d never seen a moon like this anywhere else…

Just where had he ended up?

To his great displeasure, none of the guards would even let him leave the town. Saying he was too young, too defenseless to explore Termina on his own. Ugh! It didn’t seem much safer in town! But at the same time, memories of the innkeeper built up in his throat like a guilty gag. This girl he barely knew… he didn’t want to leave her here to whatever fate the moon might bring.

If it really was falling… maybe he was just in a strange part of the world where it always looked like this? Maybe it was just like some kind of freak orbit thing… and it’d fix itself? 

Lloyd decided he needed more information. He needed to find _something_. Those Bombers could probably help.

“Huh? You wanna know more about the moon?” Genis, leader of the Bombers said. Lloyd had pointed desperately at it, still unable to speak. “Listen, kid, I’m pretty smart, but even I don’t understand what's going on with it.”

 _‘Hey! Who are you calling a kid? You’re way younger than me!’_ Lloyd tried to yell, but as per usual, it just came out as a bunch of gibberish. 

“Look, don’t get mad at me.” Genis shrugged. “I guess my sister might know a little more about it? She’s a professor with her own observatory. She’s been spending a lot of time studying the moon. When I ask her about it, she just tells me to run along and play with the other kids.” Genis stared past Lloyd, his smug smile breaking. “That’s not like her. Keeping things from me.” 

_‘Well! Maybe she’ll talk to me! I need to find out what’s going on! Maybe I can stop it!’_ Lloyd wasn’t sure what he could actually do, but it wasn’t in his nature to give up on things just because he didn’t understand them. If that were true, he’d have given up on just about everything. 

“ _You_ wanna talk to my sister?” Genis eyed Lloyd harshly, like this little Deku Shrub might be a thug. Genis was the one in a gang! How was he gonna treat Lloyd like this, huh!? “I mean, I _guess_ I could just let you, but that observatory is the Bomber’s secret hideout! And you’re not a Bomber. Plus, my sister doesn’t like being bothered by random shrubs looking for trouble.” 

_‘Ugh!! Do I really look like a trouble maker?’_ Lloyd groaned. _‘Colette didn’t think so at least…’_

“I don’t have a clue what you’re saying, kid, but begging won’t get you anywhere!” Genis said, like it was something he knew all too well. “If you wanna join our secret club, then you gotta do the secret Bomber task! That’s the rules! Do somethin’ for us, and we’ll do something for you! Fair’s fair.”

Lloyd nodded sternly, planting his feet into the ground. He was ready for anything. He’d do anything. Whatever horrible task it might be…

“I like your tenacity, kid!” Genis said smugly. “Let’s see if you can keep that up for this task…” he paused for dramatic effect, ready to strike a pose for his final words. Lloyd clenched his fists, splinters digging into his bark.

“Hide and seek!!!” Genis finally shouted. 

‘ _What?’_ Lloyd groaned, practically falling over. 

“Bahaha!” Genis laughed, pointing straight at Lloyd. “You shoulda seen your face! Did you really think I was going to send a little scrub like you on some kind of epic quest? No, man, come on. Just play hide and seek with the other kids, will you? They love it, and it keeps them out of trouble.”

 _‘Uhhh… aren’t you playing?’_ Lloyd asked.

“What, are you asking if I’m gonna play?” Genis looked insulted. “You think I’m a kid like you or something? Come on, get a grip!” His eyes twinkled with curiosity at the thought, but he shook that away. “Anyways, Bombers!! Go get playing! Everyone hide!” He gave one last glare to Lloyd. “You’ve got till the end of the day to find the other kids. If you just leave ‘em hanging, you better not show your face around here again, got it?”

The little munchkins around Genis quickly scrambled every which way throughout the town. They all appeared to know this place and its hiding spots better than anyone. Oh man, this wasn’t going to be easy was it?

* * *

It really wasn’t. 

_‘Come back here you little!...’_ Lloyd shouted, stubby legs frantically chasing after one of the Bombers he had found. The kid was hiding in a box! A box!!! Who does that? That’s not safe for one, and two, why was Lloyd expected to go around smashing boxes to find kids!? AND THREE. Why was it after he found them, he STILL HAD TO CATCH THEM? This wasn’t how Hide and Seek worked! Agh!

“Nya nyah, can’t get me!! Idiot!” the kid yelled, running in circles around the inn. What a jerk! He probably learned that from Genis didn’t he? That damn gang leader, teaching these kids to be smart and shoving it in his face!!

If Lloyd were his human self this wouldn’t be a problem.

“Nyah nyah, hahaha-AHHH HEY!” the kid squealed, his legs kicking up a storm as they left the ground.

“Hehe, got you!” Colette said, sticking out her tongue mischievously. “Go on, Goid!”

“Not fair! Not fair at all!” the kid screamed. 

Lloyd gently touched his wooden hand against the boy’s shoulder. As if the spell of Hide and Seek was broken, the kid stopped squirming. Colette gently placed him back down, leaving only a fuming child. 

“Ugh, well I _guess_ you got me. You cheated though!” 

Colette kept a smile on her face. “Well, I think the point of hide and seek is to find you! It's not supposed to be tag as well.” 

The kid threw his hands into the air. “I guess!!!” He scampered back over to Genis and their hideout. 

Lloyd looked up to Colette. The moon glared back, its face as angry and haunting as ever, but at least there was Colette’s smiling face to focus on instead. _‘Thank you! I never would have caught that kid…_ ’

“You’re welcome!” Colette said. 

Lloyd’s eyes widened in shock. _‘You can understand me?!?’_

Colette stuck her tongue out again. Man, she was cute…

“If you’re asking if I can understand you! Well… I’m kind of just learning your body language better! If I pay attention to you, you’re surprisingly easy to read!” 

_‘Why does that sound like an insult?…’_

“Oh, Goid! I mean it in a good way.” She laughed lightly. “It’s so nice having someone to focus on, someone to understand and help! It takes my mind off of…” She looked up into the sky slowly, as if hoping, hoping with all her heart the moon would be back to normal. It wasn’t. It was closer. Still closer. “Um… it just… it’s nice.” 

Lloyd couldn’t figure out what to say. Thankfully, she wouldn’t understand him anyway. He was grateful for her help, but he also really needed to catch those kids! He didn’t have all the time in the world…

“Do you need some help? I can come with you!” she asked, a tiny tinge of desperation in her voice. 

_‘Huh? Don’t you need to look after the inn or something? Not like I know how it works…’_

Colette looked over to the inn, the direction Lloyd found himself pointing at absentmindedly. Wow, he really did speak with his body more than he realized. 

“Um… well, to be honest, things have been really slow lately,” Colette admitted. “My grandma, Phaidra, said it’d be fine if she took over! Apparently, I’ve been acting very nervous lately. She said maybe a walk would do me good.” She frowned but tried so hard to hold on to that smile from before. 

_‘Wonder how good a walk will do with that moon staring at you the whole time…’_

Colette took a seat on a step next to Lloyd, staring up at the moon as well. “Does it scare you too, Goid?”

_‘Are you kidding? Of course! That thing’s scary as heck!’_

She laughed at that, her giggles so sweet and soothing. “Sorry. I guess I shouldn’t laugh.”

 _‘You don’t need to apologize! Your laughs are really nice,’_ Lloyd said. Colette’s face turned into another shade of pink. Lloyd quickly added, _‘Uh! But shouldn’t you and your grandma run away or something? Maybe it’s best you guys left._ ’

“Hm?” Colette tilted her head. “Are you wondering why I haven’t left? To tell you the truth… I don’t really know.” She stared ahead, down the cobblestone streets, past the practicing jugglers who didn’t seem to have a care in the world. “I don’t think I have anything out there for me. Plus, it’s too hard for my grandma to just up and leave. And anyways…” she breathed out a heavy sigh, placing her head down onto her knees.

“Would running even help?”

Was she just… was she just accepting it? That there was nothing left? That it was going to be over soon? 

Lloyd shook his head. He couldn’t stand to see her like this. This wasn’t fair to her. She’d shown nothing but kindness to him, nothing but kindness to everyone! He tugged at her sleeve, trying to get her attention. _‘Hey, do you want to help me find those kids? I’ll never be able to catch them!’_

“H-huh?” Colette’s face peeked out through her knees, revealing terribly sad eyes in the darkness of her hair. Lloyd’s chest felt hollower than ever. It took her only a second to understand, to hide away that sadness, that fear. “Oh! You, um... You want me to help some more?”

Lloyd nodded. 

“Ah, if that’s okay. As long as I’m not a bother. I know we’ve only just met, and I can’t even really understand you and the moon it’s just…”

 _‘Hey! Don’t worry about that! Let’s just find those kids!_ ’ Lloyd tugged harder on her sleeve, prompting the slumped girl to stand up quickly. He wouldn’t give her time to think on it anymore. 

“Oh, okay! I’m sorry! I’m coming!” Colette said, the energy returning to her voice. “I think I know a few spots that they like to hide in…”

_‘That’s great! Also, stop apologizing!!!’_

* * *

One kid left. Just one kid left!

The sun left a dying fire in the sky above north Clock Town, setting the small park ablaze in orange. The moon’s eyes reflected the fire, outshining the setting sun. Unlike the other parts of town, it was deathly quiet here. One would expect birds to be chirping at least. 

Luckily, Colette stayed with Lloyd all through the day. Even in the dull fire of the park, even in the dead silence where the trees refused to rustle in the breeze… her cheery giggles carried him onward, motivated him to keep going.

Except the whole melancholy mood was ruined by one guy. 

“Heeeeeeey, hunny! Can I just say I get a GREAT view up here? I can see EVERYTHING. You know. Everything. And let me tell you, the numbers I’m writing in my little notebook here for you? Big numbers, baby! Huge! You are rocking those-”

“ZELOS, I SWEAR TO DIN, IF I WASN’T BUSY DELIVERING LETTERS RIGHT NOW, I WOULD KILL YOU.”

The man in green tights gave a smug grin, his body loosely hovering above the ground by only a large red balloon, matching his hair. “I’d like to see you try this time! I’m way too high up to receive any stab wounds today! Hey, also are you wearing a tighter bra? Come on, baby, I loved the way those things moved when you ran through the town and-” 

“SERIOUSLY. This is sexual harassment. I can’t even BELIEVE it. I tell the goddess damn mayor every goddess damn day… What did I do to deserve this? I’m so sick of it, I just can’tdealwiththiseverydayand…” Her angry voice slowly dissipated as she ran farther and farther into the city, probably extremely thankful to be away from that hovering creep. 

_‘Who the hell is that weirdo?’_ Lloyd asked, pointing up the floating idiot in tights. 

Colette let out a knowing sigh. “That’s… Zelos. He’s kind of the town’s biggest troublemaker. He catcalls every girl that he sees, and for some reason wants to be a fairy.”

Lloyd tilted his head. _‘A fairy? What? Why? Also, I hate him already.’_

“Confused by the fairy part, right?” Colette’s shoulders slumped. “Everyone is. Whenever anyone asks him about it, he just says…”

“Have you SEEN those Great Fairies? Oh, MAN, imagine being able to bathe with her in those fountains for all of time? Oh, that’d be so great!! Dad just doesn’t GET me…” Zelos yelled to no one in particular, ogling an open magazine in his arms. “Kooloo-limpah, know what I mean?”

“...that.” Colette looked a bit strained.

Lloyd pointed at one of the nearby knights guarding the exit to the town. _‘How come no one kicks him out?’_

Colette was understanding Lloyd so incredibly well. She didn’t hesitate for a moment. “The guards have tried! He just… well he just floats back in. Plus, they think it’s kind of funny, and I mean… he is harmless, at least. He’s not done anything to anyone! I think he’s probably nice when you get to know him, but…” 

“Hey angelface!!” Zelos screamed at the top of his lungs, waving his arms frantically so much that the balloon nearly slammed into a tree. “Looking cute as always, baby!” 

Colette let out a tiny smile nervously. “Oh, um, thank yo-”

“I’d love to stay a night at your inn if you know what I’m sayin’, girl! Kooloo-limpah, baby!!!!!!!”

“Ah. Okay.” Colette sighed, defeated. Zelos had already gone back to his notepad, probably drawing some sort of awful pictures no human on earth should see.

‘ _Ugh! What an ass!_ ’ Lloyd yelled, his little Deku voice sounding more like a typhoon in a hollowed-out tree. _‘If I could do anything about him, I would! Damn this stupid body…’_

“Hm?” Colette tilted her head. “You think he might have seen where the last little boy was hiding? Maybe we should ask him, you’re right!”

 _‘That’s not what I said at all…’_ She had been getting so good at this too. But at the same time, it wasn’t a horrible idea. The horrible part was just interacting with Zelos. 

Lloyd and Colette made their way below the floating man, getting a view of just how tight his tights were. (They were too tight. Left nothing to the imagination. There was absolutely a bulge. Gross.) 

“Um, excuse me. Zelos? We were wondering if you could help us! We’re looking for a small child who must be hiding around here and hoping maybe you’d seen him?” 

Zelos didn’t even look her way. He kept working on his notepad, eyes aflame with some sort of horrible thoughts. Wasn’t he busy ogling her just a second ago? Ugh! Now he wouldn’t even give her the time of day!

 _‘Hey! My friend is talking to you, ass! Listen to her!’_ Lloyd screamed, his voice bursting with irritation.

“Haha, oh man, but imagine, like… what if her boobs were BIGGER. Like… that’d be original, right? Screw you, dad! Haha, oh man…” Zelos muttered way too loudly. 

“Mm…” Colette looked out to the park with a frown. “Maybe we should just keep looking for the child ourselves. I don’t think he’s listening…”

 _‘Ugh! Now look what you did! You made her sad!’_ Lloyd screamed, stamping his stubby feet into the dirt. _‘You’re a jerk! I really wish I could beat you up so much!’_

“Oh, Goid, it’s okay… I really think we should give up…” 

“Haha, oh man, that innkeeper has such a nice body, but personality? Boooring. Way too demure! Needs to be feisty like that sexy post office lady! Like, politeness and niceness? Laaaaame! Totally ruins her…”

 _‘Oh that is IT!’_ Lloyd fumed, his wooden body close to catching on fire. Something scratched in his throat as he shouted gibberish obscenities at the floating imbecile. Lloyd didn’t even know what he was saying anymore, much less anyone else. And through it all, Zelos still didn’t notice anyone else but himself. Ugh!

 _‘YOU ASS!’_ Lloyd screamed, a Deku Nut shooting out of his mouth like an arrow. It plopped into the balloon, piercing and destroying it in an instant. Lloyd blinked, unsure how he just did that. 

Zelos blinked as well. A loud popping sound rang in his ears, which isn’t something you usually want to hear. He looked back, noticing the balloon was no longer there to keep him afloat. He nodded to himself, probably thinking, _‘Yeah, that’s a thing I needed,_ ’ before falling to the dirt in a face first.

Despite his cruel and awful treatment of her, Colette quickly scrambled to the fallen man. He whimpered and desperately tried to wipe the dirt and grass out of his hair. 

“Yo, man, what the hell!!” Zelos whined. “Can’t a guy float around town and stare at hotties all day in peace?!”

“I-I’m so sorry,” Colette said nervously, doing her best ‘customer service’ face. “My friend and I just wanted to know if you’ve seen a little boy around is all. He’s hiding and we need to find him and…”

“What, a brat? I don’t bother lookin’ at brats, angelface,” Zelos interrupted. To Lloyd’s pleasant surprise, Zelos found another Deku Nut slap him right in the face, bruising his cheek. “Cut that out! Not the face, okay!?”

Colette tried to ignore the physical trauma this man was receiving. “Oh, but certainly you must have at least seen a boy, right? It’d be a great help to us…” 

Zelos smirked, striking a pose in his bright green tights and red underwear. “Listen, hunny, do I look like a guy who looks at boys? Besides, even if I DID see some brat, what’s in it for me, huh?” Another Deku Nut found its way, aimed straight at Zelos’ bare forehead this time. “Ow! Stop that! Only brat around here is that Deku Scrub!” 

Colette’s mask couldn’t help but crack with a smile. “Heh-um! Well, he might stop doing that if you help us? That’d be something for you, right?”

_‘No promises, assface!’_

“What the hell’d he just say?” Zelos pointed straight at Lloyd, eyebrows furrowed.

“He said he promised to stop!” Colette lied. 

Zelos put his hands on his hips, considering the deal for a moment. Another nut slapped him across the face, forcing the gears in his brain to turn much faster. “Okay, okay! Geez, I’ll tell you! The brat’s hiding in the bushes over there.” He pointed to a completely innocuous patch of leaves that looked just like every other one around the park. In response his pointing, the bush rustled nervously.

“H-hey, man! Not cool!” the bush yelled. “You’ll pay for betraying a Bomber’s trust!” 

“Ugh, whatever. I can’t win…” Zelos groaned.

In a flash, the kid was captured by Colette’s quick movements. Lloyd landed his super powerful finisher ‘You’re-It’ poke on the kid, finally ending this ridiculous quest. With a proud smile, the two made their way back through the park and towards Genis, the little Bomber boy tagging along sullenly with them. 

“Geez, good riddance,” Zelos said, going back to his notebook. Unknown to him, something shimmered in the shadows of south Clock Town’s entrance. A postwoman known for her speed and deadly sharp letters, capable of delivering the nastiest paper cuts straight to the address of whatever artery she deemed fit to dismember.

Her eyes shone, her grin widened, and she pounced on the unsuspecting Zelos. 

“I’ve got a letter from Captain Bremor’s Troop, and it needs to be delivered straight to you!” she screamed. 

“Huh? Bremor’s not a captain and he doesn’t have any troops…” were the last words that escaped his mouth before it was too late.

* * *

“You did it,” Genis said half-heartedly. “You won at hide and seek with a bunch of kids. Hooray.” 

‘ _It was your task! Why do you gotta be like that about it!?’_

“So, can Goid be a Bomber and go see your hideout?” Colette asked, hands clasped together. Lloyd had only known her for a day, but he could tell she was trying to hide the nervousness in her hands. Hide the chill of the night air, and the breath of the moon at her back. 

“Yeah, sure, Goid can,” Genis said easily. “Not you, though. I didn’t task you with hide and seek. No offense, Colette. You’re nice and all, but rules are rules. Maybe tomorrow you can play hide and seek with the kids and I’ll make you an honorary member?”

“Oh, um…” Colette nodded. “Tomorrow…” Her breathing paused, her back stiffened. She was trying not to look up at the sky, trying to forget. “Yes. Maybe that will be okay…” 

“Great! I think you’d be a perfect fit for the Bombers. We could use an older person like you around here to help with the kids!” Genis nodded before looking over to Lloyd. “As for you, you’re free to go. It’s getting late and probably way past your bedtime, so here, just take our notebook and read over the rules and everything when you get the chance, okay?”

Lloyd pocketed the notebook halfheartedly. _‘I will absolutely not be reading this, but that’s fine because you don’t understand me!’_ Lloyd said happily.

“Cool!” Genis gave Lloyd a final thumbs up, his grumpy facade finally fading away. “I think we’ll be good friends, Goid. Probably see you tomorrow, yeah?”

Tomorrow… who really knows. Lloyd nodded. He hoped he wasn’t lying. 

“Oh, um… I guess… I guess um…” Colette fumbled over her words, her eyes trying to look anywhere but up, anywhere but Lloyd. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow too, Goid?”

Lloyd frowned. He didn’t know what to say to her. He couldn’t say anything to her. She was clearly distraught, clearly nervous. She had every right to be. She did nothing but help Lloyd from the start. What could he possibly do?...

 _‘I’ll be back, Colette. I promise.’_ He put a wooden hand around hers, his strange cold fingers fumbling against her warm ones. He squeezed her hand lightly, afraid he might give her splinters if he held too tight. _‘Try not to worry.’_

“O-oh. Um…”

Colette’s breathing noticeably slowed. Her eyes met his, and he saw his foreign Deku form reflected. He looked scared. He looked sad. Was his wooden face really that expressive? Did it betray that much? But Colette seeing him like this… it wasn’t so bad. Almost comforting. She didn’t look as nervous anymore.

“Okay. I’ll see you later, Goid.” She nodded. 

He nodded back, his hand slowly drifting away from hers. Greedy as it was, he wished he could hold onto that warmth for this cold night, so that his hollow form could feel something again. But there would be time later. There was still time. There had to be. 

“Geez, what’s with you two?” Genis shook his head and let out a sigh. “Something’s weird going on, and I don’t like it. Goid, are you even a kid?”

 _‘Couldn’t tell you if I tried!’_ Lloyd shouted back, sprinting through the alleyway, waving back to Colette as he did so. She waved, the smile returning to her face, and the moon glaring at her back.

* * *

Potions glimmered a rainbow of colors, and glass clinked lightly through the air. Crystal reflections illuminated the observatory, spinning slowly, like the stars in the night. Ancient masks and old crumbling pieces of ruins littered the shelves and the floor. What was any of this stuff? It was all so curious, all so scary. The place was a mess of findings and research of ruins near and far.

Lloyd made his way up the stairs where the muttering and grumbling grew louder. He found the professor staring through her enormous telescope, surrounded by a large spherical ceiling. Star patterns danced across the walls, mysterious lights with little meaning to Lloyd, but supposedly much meaning to this woman. 

“Ugh, no, no, no, this shouldn’t be right…” she grumbled, practically glued to the giant telescope eyepiece. “How is it that little Mithos boy? Is it really him? Is he really pulling it? That can’t be. It doesn’t make any sense, but…” She didn’t even notice Lloyd.

 _‘Hey, uh, excuse me,”_ Lloyd said rather loudly.

“I’ve watched the skies for so long. I have never seen anything like this. I’ve never heard of anything like this. And that mask… that mask… it’s fascinating but terrifying. Could it be?...” 

Completely ignored. Still. Well. There was no time left to be polite. 

_‘EXCUSE ME!’_ Lloyd yelled, accidentally spitting a Deku Nut and breaking a fancy blue potion into a million pieces. Its contents oozed out onto the floor in a sticky mess. Oops…

“Huh? Who is making that awful racket? Genis, what have I told you about letting your friends run rampant?” She turned to face the source of annoyance, ignoring the shattered potion. “You’re not Genis and you’re not one of those kids.”

 _‘No! I’m not! But I came here looking for help to deal with that moon.’_ Lloyd pointed at the telescope and at her. His noises came out calmly, but they were still gibberish. The professor's eyes shone in the dim light of the observatory, piecing together a puzzle. She wore a dark blue robe and matching hat, blending in with the night sky around her. _‘You’re Professor Sage, aren’t you? If anyone would know anything, it must be you.’_

Professor Sage kept silent. Her eyes dissecting Lloyd, her mind picking apart his words. It made him uncomfortable.

_‘Um… hello? Do you understand me?’_

Her hand left her chin and she shrugged. “I don’t have a clue what you’re saying little boy.” 

Lloyd sighed, defeat weighing heavy in his hollow stomach.

She smirked. “But you’re not a little boy, are you? You’re not even a Deku.” 

Lloyd’s eyes must have lit up brighter than any star in the sky. _‘Huh?! How can you tell?’_

“What kind of Deku talks like that? I’ve never heard of a Deku that can’t speak a single word in any language, let alone its own. Yet here you are, still trying to talk. Almost like it’s not something you’re used to. You seem uncomfortable in your own body, in all of your movements. Am I wrong?” Professor Sage framed it as a question, but she knew the answer to it.

Lloyd nodded excitedly. What if she could get rid of the curse? What if she was the answer to all his problems? If he was human again, it would make all of this impending doom thing so much easier…

Professor Sage made her way to Lloyd, bending down face to face with him. Again, her eyes picked apart at his bark-flesh, dug into his eye-sockets, and reached into his very essence. “It’s like him…” she muttered to herself.

 _‘Uh. Like who?’_ Lloyd tried to say. Even if he was a human, he probably would have fumbled over his words right now. This Sage woman was very intense.

She wasn’t paying attention to him. In a flash, her fingers gripped Lloyd’s face, pulling at wood behind his ears, scraping her fingernails around his cheeks and neck, as if trying to find a hidden compartment. 

_‘Hey! Cut it out! That hurts!’_ Lloyd cried, trying to pull out of her invasive grip.

“Quit whining. I’m trying to help you,” Sage said evenly, eyebrows furrowed in irritation. She pulled at something behind his ears, pulled hard. Pain exploded throughout Lloyd’s body, pierced into his skull, screamed in his brain. His soul felt like it was leaving his body. He desperately clawed at the Professor, unable to bear it any longer.

_‘STOP IT, THAT HURTS!’_

Splinters and blood trickled down Sage wrists, but she hardly noticed or cared. Her eyes stared into Lloyd’s. Her hands finally stopped tugging, not because of Lloyd’s agony, but because it seemed a futile effort. 

“It’s a mask,” she finally said, standing up. “Like that kid’s. Like that strange Salesman's. I figured as much.”

Lloyd rubbed the sore parts of his face, burning with anger, black smoke probably bursting out of his ear holes. _‘If you figured, why did you try? That really hurt!’_

Sage shrugged, pulling her dark blue sleeves over her wounded arms. “Sometimes a solution to a problem can be the simplest one. Best to try that before anything else. I thought perhaps the mask could be pulled off with enough force.” She stopped herself. “And no, I still have no idea what you’re saying. You’re just easy to read.”

… Why did people keep saying that? It didn’t seem like a compliment.

“I assume you’re here to try and lift that curse, hm? Maybe hoping I know some way to reverse it?” Sage went on, attempting to read Lloyd’s mind. It’s not like she had a choice. “I hate to tell you this, but even if I could heal you, I have more pressing matters to attend to right now.” 

_‘That’s not why I came here. I mean, it would have been nice.’_ Lloyd sighed. _‘But I wanted to know about the moon! The moon!’_ He desperately pointed to the telescope, to the dark skies. _‘Is there anything I can do to stop it? Anything at all?’_

“Ah. Yes. You’re more worried about the moon.” The professor nodded, eyes losing their luster. “As you should be. Even if I were to fix the curse, it wouldn’t matter by tomorrow night.” 

_‘Tomorrow night? Is that all the time we have?’_ Lloyd gasped.

“It’s just a guess,” Raine waved it off like it wasn’t a big deal. Or maybe it was just because she had lost hope. “But I think late tomorrow night the moon will strike Clock Town. Destroying everything and everyone. Not just Clock Town. Maybe not even just Termina. The disaster will be worse than anything I can even imagine.” Her voice was cold. Empty. 

Paralyzing terror poisoned Lloyd’s stomach. But he wouldn’t let it stop him. He couldn’t.

 _‘There has to be something we can do! Something I can do!’_ Lloyd shouted. 

“There’s not enough time,” Professor Sage said. “There’s just not enough time. If only I could have studied it more, if only I could have seen the signs sooner…” 

_‘What are you talking about? Tell me!’_ Lloyd demanded. 

“I guess it doesn’t matter now. Your dirty little hands couldn’t ruin it any more than its going to be,” she said sharply. She moved back to the telescope slowly, like a corpse with nothing left to cling to. “Take a look for yourself.”

She motioned for the eyepiece, muttering, “I can’t tell Genis the truth. What would be the point? Best let him enjoy what he can. He’ll only believe my lies for so long. He’s always been too smart for his own good…”

Lloyd tried to ignore her mutterings. It only made this harder. He stood on the tips of his toes and looked through the telescope.

It was pointed low to the skies. To the highest point of Clock Town. The center of the town, the enormous Clock Tower, ticking away slowly, always in the back of its citizen’s minds. Atop it stood the ghastly figure that Lloyd had encountered in the woods. The one who put the curse on him. The one who did all of this.

Blonde hair floated along with his tiny frame. Upon his face, he wore that same terrifying mask, all pointed and dark with bright unblinking eyes. Somehow, Lloyd could tell the boy behind it was smiling. Laughing. He looked up to the moon, a rock larger than any mountain in the distance, and he laughed. And he laughed. His body moved rhythmically, but not organically. Like strings pulled at his limbs, ordering him to pull the moon closer, to destroy it all. However, Lloyd did not sense any resistance from the boy with the blonde hair. It seemed he welcomed the destruction.

“I believe that to be Mithos,” Professor Sage finally said, breaking the deafening silence in Lloyd’s mind. He quickly left the telescope’s eyepiece, breathless and shaking. “He was an orphan boy. Like Genis and I and the rest of the Bombers. He was always a troublemaker that one. Talked a lot about his sister, but we’ve never seen her.”

She went on, staring into nothing. “I was never quite fond of him. He was a bad influence on Genis. He also seemed jealous of Genis for the fact that I existed. I couldn’t bear to keep them apart. At least… not until some time ago. I overheard them talking about some plans to play a prank on someone.”

Lloyd listened, his heart beating a wooden timber in his chest. The clock continued to tick. 

“I thought nothing of it. Kids will be kids after all. Genis seemed so happy. And even that awful Mithos boy as well.” She sighed. “Then one night, Genis didn’t come home. I feared the worst. But he was back the next night with Mithos. Both of them were wearing masks. When I was asking the guards around town if they had seen my little brother, I overheard talks about a mask salesman suffering a theft.”

“Tch…” Professor Sage gritted her teeth together, a dark rage shadowing her face. “They must have thought me an idiot. Maybe Mithos had convinced Genis I wouldn’t notice? That I’d be too busy with my work to care what he was up to? Of course I knew. I told that boy in the awful mask to stay away from Genis, and told Genis to never come near that little boy again. There was something wrong with him. I always knew. I knew…”

“And that little Mithos… I don’t know if it was the mask giving him courage, or if he always had that anger inside him. He screamed back at me, louder than anything I’ve ever heard. It knocked both of us to the floor. His words are still burned into my mind…” she shook her head, eyes clenched. “I still can’t get it out.”

**‘I knew you were no good. I knew you didn’t like me. I knew you didn’t care about me! Why would you? You have a sister of your own still! Well, if you don’t care about me, then why should I care about ANYONE?! You’ll see what it feels like to have NOTHING. You’ll see what it feels like to _be_ NOTHING.’**

“And he was gone in an instant,” Professor Sage said. “I don’t know what happened. I think we must have blacked out. I don’t know. Things got hazy. That mask he’s wearing… it wasn’t a normal one like Genis had stolen. It was something I’d heard of from times long past… something even I barely know about. Majora’s Mask, the Salesman had called it, when we came to return Genis’ stolen mask.”

Lloyd grimaced. The Salesman had told him about it as well.

“Why am I even bothering to tell you all this?” Sage said with a sigh, her body deflating. She slid to the floor, as if it was too hard to even stand any more. “There’s nothing you can do about it. There’s nothing anyone can do about it now.” 

_‘No way!’_ Lloyd shouted, stomping his stubby feet. _‘I’ll figure something out! Hey, look at me! Is there any way to get on top of the tower? Maybe I can talk to him, maybe I can beat him up, I don’t know!’_

The Professor tilted her head, amazed to see the little Deku Scrub before her hadn’t given up like she had. “What, you want to try and stop him? He has some kind of ancient evil power behind that mask. It’s worse than anything I’ve ever read about.” 

_‘Who cares!’_ Lloyd yelled. _‘What else am I gonna do? Lay around and wait to die? Screw it! I might as well die trying to beat up some jerk kid!’_

She almost smiled. Almost. “There’s a way up to the top of Clock Tower. That’s where you’ll find him. But it only opens at midnight during the Carnival of Time. I’ve tried to talk to the mayor about opening it early, but he says it’s out of his hands. The tower’s mechanisms are a mystery to him. When I asked to study more on it, the knights and construction workers interrupted me, saying that studying a tower ‘wasn’t important.’ I haven’t been able to get a word in since. They won’t listen to me.”

So the way to the top of the tower will open up tomorrow at midnight? There was still a chance. 

“I don’t even know if we’ll make it till then,” Raine admitted. “And it's like I said… what can we do? What can you do? There isn’t enough time. Even if we stopped that evil thing, the moon will still fall. I won’t waste my precious final moments trying to fight it anymore.”

Lloyd shook his head. _‘I’ll try my best. I don’t care! I’ll do whatever I can.’_

The Professor suddenly let out a high-pitched fit of laughter, sending chills down Lloyd’s barky spine. “Oh my, you might be a human, but you really are a blockhead aren’t you? This Deku form suits you pretty well.”

_‘Don’t make fun of me! I’ll do something! You’ll see!’_

“Well… how about this,” Sage stood up finally, a bit of color returning to her cheeks. “Since you listened to me blather on about my problems, I’ll give you a little hint about how to fix your curse. Maybe. Whatever good that’ll do.” She sighed, straining to keep what life she had left in her. “In return, you don’t tell Genis any of this. Not that you can, but… just in case.” 

Lloyd nodded. That was something Professor Sage would have to do herself anyway. It wasn’t Lloyd’s place to do that.

“Come, let me show you something. Again, for all the good it will do…” Raine shrugged, walking down the stairs. Lloyd quickly followed.

She stood before some relics, masks, and other decaying architecture. Old and rotten scrolls had been pinned up on the walls, their ink fading, their corners ripped and falling apart. Lloyd couldn’t decipher what any of them said, but one appeared to be a music sheet?

“This is called the Song of Healing. An ancient scroll I found on one of my treks through the ruins here in Termina. It seems to be closely related to all the strange mask imagery I’ve found throughout. I don’t have an instrument of my own to play it, and even when I did, it didn’t do anything for me, but…” she sighed one final time, her lips curving into the faintest of smiles. A tiny light in the dark of this moon-filled night. “Maybe it will help you somehow. Remember it well.”

Lloyd nodded. Memory wasn’t always his strong suit, but when it came to short music notes like this, he’d try his best. Especially if it was his only hope for fixing the curse. 

The clattering of glass knocked Lloyd out of his thoughts. Wooden masks rattled, something shattered upstairs, and Lloyd lost his balance and fell on his backside. The world was shaking. The Professor grit her teeth, barely able to keep her footing. Was it all over already? Would the earth swallow them whole?

Tremors subsided and Lloyd let out a tiny sigh of relief. A part of him expected the worst. It looked like Professor Sage must have experienced the same thing.

“Just a small quake,” Sage said, probably to reassure herself more than anything. “I expect they’ll only grow more and more common as it draws nearer to the end.” 

“Nearer to the end?...” a voice said out in the dark hallway. Genis appeared at the hideout’s entrance, his bandana ruffled, eyes full of nervous questions. “Raine, what do you mean by that?”

“Genis!” Professor Sage cursed under her breath. “What are you doing here already? I thought you’d still be watching the other children.” 

Genis walked into the low light of the hideout, his face towards the ground. “The kids have been scared, Raine. They’ve all been asking questions. I’ve tried to tell them what you told me, that it’s just an uncommon phenomenon. But people have been fleeing the town, Raine. That moon is way too close… it’s not right. Even the younger kids know something is wrong.” 

“Genis…” Sage started to say, her eyes darting to the side, trying to find another excuse, another lie. 

“I’m not stupid!” Genis shouted, corners of his eyes wet. His voice softened, and for once, he seemed like a child his age. “I always knew something wasn’t right, I just… I didn’t want to… and you told me it’d be okay... but then that earthquake… the kids got so scared… I got so scared… I ran to check on you as soon as it happened, I thought we were going to die…” 

“I’m sorry.” Professor Sage kneeled down and pulled him into a tight embrace.

And just like that, everything Genis had been holding back finally broke. He desperately clutched onto her, gasping sobs breaking out of his throat. She stroked his hair gently, whispering, “It’s okay. We’re still here for now. For now.”

Lloyd couldn’t bear to watch it anymore. It felt wrong. He wasn’t supposed to be here. He should have been stopping this from happening. He ran through the waterway, only sparing one glance back at them as their huddled forms drifted into the darkness. 


	3. The Final Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Final Hours was the musical inspiration for this chapter. Click this if you want some fitting background music.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbR5WcyWl18)

Sleep did not come easily. Maybe it did not come at all. Lloyd wasn’t sure. As he laid in bed, there were times things went dark, where time felt it had come to an end. But moments later, the moon came back. Closer than ever. He heard the cries of Professor Sage and Genis. He saw the fear in Colette’s eyes. He felt the tremors shake his bed. Besides that, he heard the maddening sound of nothing. No birds chirped outside, no people roamed the streets, not even the wind seemed to blow.

Eventually, he couldn’t stand it anymore. He was as rested as he was ever going to be. What was the point in sleeping now anyway? He hoped up to the doorknob and left his room, hoping to shake the horrible visions that flooded his mind. 

Sometimes reality can be even worse than imagination. 

Colette, the innkeeper, sat with her back against the wall outside of Lloyd’s door. Her head laid atop her knees, her hair draped in dark light of the early morning. She stayed so still. So quiet. So stiff. Her spine slumped. 

_‘Colette?’_ Lloyd could barely even breathe. 

Her body twitched. Colette’s head slowly rose up, revealing dark and tired eyes. “Oh! Goid. You’re awake.” She smiled beneath ruffled hair, but it was getting harder and harder to fake it. “I, um, I was having trouble sleeping.”

Lloyd didn’t know what to say. He couldn’t say anything to fix this. He couldn’t fix anything. Why did he keep failing?

“There, um,” Colette started shakily. “There, um, there doesn’t seem to be anyone else in the inn anymore. So, um, I just… I wanted to greet you and maybe… maybe make us breakfast… but, um… it was too early and I just… I waited here and I… I fell asleep I think, I’m sorry.” Her voice hitched and something broke inside. “I don’t know what’s happening.” 

He couldn’t take this anymore. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair to anyone. None of this. Anger and hopelessness swirled inside his tiny broken body. Without another thought, he grabbed her hand and held it tight just like the night before.

“I… I…” Colette stuttered, at a loss. Lloyd didn’t care anymore. It didn’t matter. What was the point in trying to hold anything back anymore? He couldn’t do anything right. He needed something, anything. Finally, he pulled her into a tight hug, his weak arms must have been nothing more than twigs to her.

“I’m so scared… I’m so scared…” Colette’s voice broke out just barely above a whisper. “I don’t want to die,” she sobbed. 

_‘I’m scared, too,_ ’ Lloyd tried to say, failing even that. _‘I’m so sorry, Colette.’_

For a moment longer, they held each other. For a moment longer, they let themselves drift into despair. But they did so together. At least it was no longer silent. At least now, it was not just the moon that held its grasp on them. At least, just for a moment, it felt okay.

* * *

There wasn’t much time left. There wasn’t much he could do. Not until midnight.

So he stayed with Colette. And she stayed with him. Admittedly, Lloyd wasn’t sure he would have been able to handle it without her. While the sky was still blue, and the sun still tried its best to shine through like nothing was wrong… the moon blotted out everything. There was no more avoiding it. There was no more pretending it wasn’t there.

As if to rub salt in the wounds, you could not even feel safe inside, away from the moon’s gaze. The earthquakes became so frequent, knocking boxes to the ground, shattering pots into pieces, and leaving no one left to clean them up. Whenever an earthquake came, Lloyd and Colette held each other’s hand tight. They were both afraid. But they weren’t alone. It made their last hours together less painful.

“I… I wish I could have had time to get to know you better, Goid,” Colette said as they strolled through the quiet town together. Barely anyone was left, save for a few panicked villagers running with their possessions barely in tow.

 _‘I do, too.’_ Lloyd kept his hand tight around hers. He wasn’t going to give up just yet. There was still a chance he could learn more about this girl. It didn’t have to be over. Maybe… just maybe.

“I wish I could understand you,” Colette said, her words deflated.

_‘You already seem to understand me so well!’_

“Hm? You think I do?” Colette asked, that fear thinning from her eyes. Another brief smile swept across her lips. “I guess… I guess I do think I understand you pretty well. I’m not quite sure what it is. You’re very warm, Goid.”

_‘Really? Considering I’m made of wood, I thought you were warmer.’_

Colette let out a tiny giggle. One she couldn’t fight. It washed away Lloyd’s stress. “I meant your personality! You’re very warm.”

_‘Oh! Um, well! Same to you! Physically and emotionally!’_

It would be okay. It would be okay. No matter what happened now. It had to be okay. As long as Colette was near. He wouldn’t let go of her. Even if that was selfish… he couldn’t.

Their strolls had taken them back to the northside of town. The park was quieter than ever. No children played. There was no longer a guard at its exit. Even that creepy Zelos character was gone. In his place, a couple of hastily put up signs and papers were tapered around, and what looked like… red?

“You wondering what happened to Zelos, huh,” a low and empty voice said.

“S-Sheena? Is… that you?” Colette called out nervously, finally noticing the small makeshift cage by the town’s exit, shrouded in the moon’s shadow. “What… what happened?”

“It’s obvious isn’t it?” Sheena responded flatly. She sat on the ground, eyes staring directly down. Her usual white postwoman’s outfit had become dirtied and ill maintained. Rips cut into her, grass and dirt stained her body, mixed with bits of red. Crumpled letters littered themselves around her, never to be sent. She finally looked up to them, another blot of red at her cheeks. “I killed him.”

Colette gulped. “W-what? Sheena, there’s no way you would…” They must have known each other. Colette was shaken, squeezing Lloyd’s hand tight.

“Maybe if things were different,” Sheena grumbled, her eyes hollow and empty. “I killed that idiot in front of the guard. I didn’t care. What did it matter anymore? Why should it matter? I’ve worked so hard my entire life, I’ve suffered so much for everything and from everyone… and I was supposed to spend my last moments listening to him treat me like that?”

“Sheena…”

“At least, now… at least now it’s quiet. He’s quiet. He was always better when he was quiet,” Sheena muttered, closing back in on herself. “Maybe things could have been better… maybe he could have changed, but it doesn’t matter now. It’s done. It’s over. _Everything_ is done. At least in my last moments, I could stand up for myself. I could do what I want. He was going to die anyways.”

Colette moved slowly towards the cell. It looked like it was meant to transport Sheena away, but whoever was doing so felt this was a good enough punishment. She moved to the door, hoping to-

“Don’t bother,” Sheena said sharply. Colette gasped, flinching away. “I could get out if I wanted to. I don’t care anymore. Let me stay here. I want to die on my own terms.”

“But…”

“I’ve MADE my decision!” Sheena shouted. “For these last few hours, _I_ will be the one in control, do you hear me?! NOBODY will tell me what to do anymore! NOBODY will humiliate me ever again! I will die, and I _want_ to die! Do you understand!? Now leave me alone! Let me die in silence! Let it be quiet… let it all finally be quiet…”

Lloyd tugged on a heartbroken Colette. He gently pulled her away, away from the park, away from Sheena. There was nothing to be done. Colette didn’t deserve this.

They didn’t go to the northern part of town anymore.

* * *

And just like any other day, night fell. Soon, the moon along with it.

Every day moves so fast. This day was like any other. Over too soon. The sun had left, and the darkness encroached ever more, its grasping hands pulling them to endless night. There would be no more sun. Not after tonight. It was their last sunset. It had been such a beautiful ray of oranges and reds. Lloyd had placed his hard head against Colette’s side. She responded in kind, her soft hair crinkling together with his leaves.

It was all moving so fast between them. He knew. She knew. But that was how it had to be.

The night grew cold and the earthquakes grew so frequent. It wouldn’t be long before the clock tower opened. Lloyd still hung onto that tiny glimmer of hope. That something could be done. There was still a chance… Maybe Colette believed it too. He hoped she did. He needed her to.

Bells rang. They rang and they continued to ring. Ghostly reverberations mixed together with tremors to transform a once celebratory time into a gong signaling the end of everything. The bells must have been heard all throughout Termina, automated by its incredible tower. It cried out to the rest of the world, it warned them of their terrible fates. It refused to die with a whimper. It would cry out, it would scream and kick, it would be known until it could no longer.

When they made it back to the southern part of Clock Town, they were met with screaming. But not screams of fear, not screams from a crowd of horrified onlookers, no. It was one man.

“Ach, so you think you can frighten me, do ya? You’re nothin’ but a big hunk of rock!” the voice boomed, echoing across the empty town. “I’ve lived hundreds of years in rocks three times as big as you! If ye think you can scare these old bones, then you’re in for a shock! You hear me!? I SAID DO YOU HEAR ME?! Everyone else ran away, the right **COWARDS**! I’M NOT AFRAID OF YOU. COME ON THEN, FALL! WHAT ARE YE WAITING FOR? **FALL**!”

Lloyd and Colette looked up to small man with wide eyes. The veins at his neck throbbed, bits of spittle trailed out of his mouth, dribbling down into his enormous scraggly beard. They’d seen him before in previous days. He was head of the construction crew for the carnival stands. Atop his finished wooden creation, he met the moon’s eyes with his own fire.

“I WON’T LET IT ALL BE A WASTE! I CREATED THIS! I FINISHED MY PROJECT! SMASH IT IF YOU WILL, BUT YOU’RE TOO LATE! I GET THE LAST LAUGH, YOU HEAR ME? YOU’RE NOTHIN’ BUT A PEBBLE! FALL ALREADY!”

His voice must have been going hoarse. It looked exhausting to stay that angry. But the dwarf clenched his fists, tried to muster up the energy to stay enraged. Being angry… it was better than being afraid wasn’t it? Finally, his anger broke. His eyes fell. And when they did, Lloyd saw the grit of his teeth, the tremble in his lips. But only for a second, for his eyes landed upon Lloyd and Colette.

“What in the world’s this?! A couple of visitors to the Carnival of Time?!” He hopped down without a second of hesitation, barely sticking the landing. After all, what would it matter if he broke his legs? “I thought I’d be the only one to enjoy all my hard work!”

Even now, his voice still boomed, almost louder than the bells, almost louder than the quakes. It was almost comforting. He almost blotted out the moon. Almost.

“Ah, I’ve seen ye around, lass!” the dwarf said with a grin, grabbing her hand and shaking it firmly. “You’re that innkeeper, are you not? Very good to finally meet you! I’m Dirk, master carpenter, head of this here fine carnival’s design!”

“Um! Hello, Dirk!” Colette said. Her voice could barely be heard about the chaos of the world’s end. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Speak up, lass! I can hardly hear you in all the commotion!” He let out a hearty laugh.

“It’s… it’s nice to meet you!!!” Colette shouted, frail and forced. But it sent a glimmer of something in her eyes.

“Aye, that’s much better! And who might you be, lad?” Dirk turned his attention to Lloyd, eyes aflame with energy. He took Lloyd’s hand in his so roughly Lloyd thought he might pull his arm clean off. His tough fingers felt like sandpaper. “Ahaha, lucky I didn’t see you around town much! I might have turned a twig like you into my masterpiece here!”

Lloyd blinked. It was all so much. But the dwarf before him demanded full attention, and for that, Lloyd was thankful. _‘I’m Lloyd! It is nice to meet you, Dirk!’_

“What’s that, lad?” Dirk shouted over the bells. “Ah, it was a bit of dark humor for you, I wouldn’t have hurt you, I promise!”

“Oh, um, he has trouble talking!” Colette said, still attempting to shout. “His name is Goid! He wasn’t worried about you, I don’t think.”

Dirk’s bushy eyebrows lifted upwards, his teeth splayed in another big grin. “I see! Well, I’m glad you two could make it! If it’s the end of the world, we might as well enjoy it, aye? Where’s the sense in cowering and running, hm? Let us celebrate the world we had!”

He strolled over to one of his colorful stands, probably meant to be manned by anyone else. It was dark and empty, just like every other building, just like everything else. A few pretty lights were hung around, but many had fallen and shattered from the quakes.

Dirk turned around to find Lloyd and Colette frozen in their tracks. It was hard to move, hard to think. Dirk’s eyes softened.

“I know it’s scary,” he finally said. “I know it isn’t fair. The two of you…” his voice lowered. “You haven’t lived as long as this old rock. You didn’t deserve to have it all end like this so early. It isn’t fair.” He paused. “I’m sorry.” Another bell rang out, another quake shook the stands, shook them to their core.

“But! I’ll be here with you till the end now! Come on! Let’s have a bit of fun, eh? Let’s tell that stupid moon to stuff it, eh? It expects us to cower and cry, it expects us to run and tremble in its might! Well, let’s spite it and go out laughing in its face! What do you say?”

Lloyd squeezed Colette’s hand, looking up to her. Her eyes were wet. Fear bubbled and could no longer hide itself, but she tried to smile for him. Even though her hands trembled with his, she nodded.

They spent the last couple of hours with the loud dwarf named Dirk. He led them through each stand, he showed them his master craftsmanship along the way, boasting the design and how it refused to fall even between all the earthquakes. He hopped over the stands and manned them himself, setting up the bottles with a great big smile till the end.

“Come on, lass, let’s see if you can hit these!” he said with a grin, handing her a ball. “Go on, give it a toss! Because the two of you are so darn cute, I’ll let you play for free, what do you say?” He laughed again, his fire filled laugh, making sure to face down the moon as he did so.

Colette forced a smile again. Maybe it wasn’t even that forced. It was hard to tell. But she would try. Just like Lloyd, she would try. Dirk helped Lloyd up on top of the counter so he could see better. Colette threw the ball with all of her trembling might letting out a tiny squeal deafened by the bells and missed her shot completely. She struck the stand’s side with a pathetic thud.

“Oh no…” she said, her heart sinking.

Another quake hit, harder than the last, sending the bottles crashing to the floor. “Aye, look at that, lass! You got em’ all in one shot! Amazing!” Dirk reached for the largest prize he could find. He pulled down a big stuffed Deku, about the same size as Lloyd. “Go on, take it lass, you’ve earned it! Looks a bit like your little friend there, eh? Haha!”

Even as the bells and the quakes devoured all sound, Lloyd managed to hear a faint giggle escape her lips. She took the Deku in both hands and squeezed it so tightly. So so tightly. Another bell pierced their ears. In a flash, she quickly dropped the stuffed Deku and took Lloyd back into her arms instead.

“It’s very nice,” she said. “Thank you so much, Dirk. But I think I prefer the real thing right now.”

Lloyd wordlessly embraced her. Her heart pounded so much.

“Aye, it’s…” Dirk gulped away something in his throat. “It’s all right, lass. I understand.”

They played more games like that while they still could. Dirk handled it all. Even with Lloyd’s stubby arms failing to get a ring around a bottle, Dirk would always make sure they won. A ring would fall out of his sleeves and around a target, and Dirk always acted so surprised.

“Wow! Even for a little twig such as yourself, you have a mighty fine throwing arm, lad!”

At one stand, a particular prize stood out from the rest, for Colette at least. Dirk noticed her eyeing it, and with his usual jolly self, he offered it to her regardless of victory. “You like that little Snow Bunny charm, eh? Made it during my time at Snowhead. Suits a sweet lass like yourself.”

Colette cupped the tiny bunny in her hands and pressed it against her chest. In her next motion, she quickly presented it to Lloyd. That seemed to have been her plan all along.

“I want you to have it, Goid. It’s small, cute, and warm. Just like you.”

Lloyd’s heart thumped in his wooden body. He took it gently, afraid somehow that he might hurt the frail thing. It had been so close to Colette’s heart. Without another thought, he placed it in a pocket at his chest, hoping to feel its tiny warmth against him for the rest of time.

_‘Thank you, Colette.’_

For a time, it was nice. For such a short time it was nice. Through the tears, through the bells, through the quakes, they managed to smile and to laugh. Dirk’s strong hands always broke them out of that paralyzing fear, out of that terrible nothingness that pricked at their spines, with a pat of his own. He patted them so hard that it knocked the fear right out of them. Just for a moment.

Then their time was up. The fireworks went off as Dirk planned them to. The doors of the tower shuddered open, stairs leading up to Mithos, to the moon, and to the end of the Carnival of Time. There were no more hours left. Only minutes.

“Ah, you want to climb the tower, do you?” Dirk asked, his loud voice growing more strained, more hoarse as the moon overtook the town. “I understand, but I will not be leaving my masterpiece behind. When you two are finished, I’ll be down here. Waiting.” His lips trembled, but he held that strong smile. “Promise you’ll come see an old man again, aye?”

Colette nodded. She might have said something, but Lloyd couldn’t hear. The bells were too loud. The shaking wouldn’t stop. Flames began to fill the sky. The moon’s rage was all that was and all that would be.

Without a moment to spare, they climbed up the tower’s balcony. Colette helped Lloyd with the steep jump, pulling him with trembling hands. They took one last look at Dirk, who had climbed atop his tallest stand to wave them goodbye. Even through his tears he smiled.

* * *

She tugged him up the stairs and through the darkness. His stubby legs couldn’t move fast enough, couldn’t navigate the inky black of the tower. Inside was nothingness. Quakes and bells shook him, but Colette carried him through, pulled him out of that place, kept him moving even when it felt like it was too late.

The moon’s fiery glare met theirs before Mithos did. He floated before it, his body sprawled out in a lazily. In his hands he tossed the Ocarina he stole from Lloyd. The mask’s blinding yellow eyes hid all features of his face, but anyone could tell he was grinning beneath it.

“Well hello there,” Mithos said, his voice somehow ringing louder than the bells. “Come for a front row seat to the end of the world I presume?”

This was the kid who was going to kill them all. This was the source of everyone’s problems! If Lloyd could do something here, he could stop this! Right?! That was all he could think about, it was the only thing he could allow.

 _‘You’re that kid who cursed me! You’re the kid who robbed me! Why are you doing this?! Stop it!’_ Lloyd shouted.

“Ohhh.” Mithos stretched out of his napping pose, leaning forward to get a better view of Lloyd. “It _is_ you, isn’t it? I could hardly tell in that scrub form of yours! Hahahaha!” He laughed, and he laughed, and his voice echoed in Lloyd’s brain and rang out to the heavens. “You know its too late to stop me, right? What are you going to do? Huh? Hit me with one of those stupid Deku Nuts? Come on then, go ahead!”

His laughs continued to ring, clanging against the metal, shaking the world, bringing the moon down. Lloyd fought against that hopelessness, that emptiness inside him. He remembered what Dirk said, how against everything, he was going to spite that moon. He wouldn’t give up, he wouldn’t give it the satisfaction.

Although the attack was still foreign to him, Lloyd let loose a projectile, aimed straight at Mithos and his mask. Snickering, Mithos swiped the thing straight out of the air. “You really thought that would work? Ridiculous!” He laughed and laughed, holding his sides and rolling through the air.

Something burned inside Lloyd. He tried again. And again. And again. Anything. Something. He had to do something! Mithos easily knocked each attack out of the air, his laughs growing wilder with each failed blow, the sky growing hotter with each second that passed. It was getting hard to breathe.

As he laughed, Mithos suddenly noticed a cut at his wrist. A ring sliced into his open arm. Mithos reeled with a dark screech, dropping the ocarina. Colette caught her chakram and readied another throw.

 _‘Colette?!’_ Lloyd was awestruck. _‘I didn’t know you had those! I didn’t know you could use those!’_

“If we live, I’ll explain after!” Colette cried, sweat trickling down her face. “Goid, get that thing he dropped! It’s yours isn’t it?! It looks important! Can it do something?” Lloyd nodded and quickly scrambled after it.

“You DISGUSTING pathetic NOBODY!” Mithos screamed, clutching at his wrist. Blood cried out from his wound. “How dare you?! How DARE you?! After everything I’ve went through?! After everything I’ve lost!? I knew you all deserved to die, I knew you all deserved to feel what I felt! You’re all the same! YOU WILL ALL DIE!”

Mithos mustered the power of Majora’s Mask, giving his body completely to its whims. He let out another hideous scream from the depths of some dark place Lloyd could never understand. Scorched air filled his lungs and the moon’s decent upon them only hastened. Lloyd held the ocarina in his small hands, mind racing.

Colette’s chakrams found their mark, slicing into the boy’s flesh with ease, but he didn’t even flinch. He didn’t react anymore. He was nothing but a puppet at this point. “Lloyd! Do something! There has to be something you can do! We just… we need more time! We need more time…”

Time… he needed more time. They all needed more time. The world was going to end in the next few minutes. It didn’t matter what he did now. It was too late. There wasn’t enough time.

He remembered. The song! A song his mother had taught him long ago, when she gave him this ocarina. It wasn’t until he felt it in his hands again that he could remember. Remember her. It was almost like she was still in there, begging him to remember. A strange urge to play it met him.

“Huh?!” Colette had given up on her assault on Mithos. It wasn’t doing anything. She scrambled over to Lloyd. “Trumpets? Horns? What…”

He didn’t understand how it happened either. The instrument turned into something this form was more accustomed to. His nozzle-like mouth fit perfectly, and his fingers moved easily over it, even though he had no idea what he was doing. In a last-ditch effort, he attempted to play the Song of Time his mother had taught him, on her ocarina.

“Is this… will this do something? Please…” Colette collapsed to the ground and wrapped her arms around Lloyd’s shoulders, squeezing him so tightly. The moon was here. The end was here. Light and darkness blinded him, something took him. Colette’s grip weakened, and his heart mourned the loss of her touch.

He fell into a haze, alone. The world swirled and exploded, the bells rang one final time, and even Mithos’ scream faded into nothing. The ground beneath him had vanished and he was falling, but was it up or down? Or was it anywhere? Was he dying? He just wished Colette was there at least… why couldn’t he feel her anymore? It was the only thing that mattered and it was gone.


	4. The First Day?

And just when he had lost all hope, lost all senses, he fell with a hollow thud against the ground. His body rattled, and he inhaled musty air. Was he alive? Was he dead? Did it matter? The emptiness inside threatened to devour him whole. Colette was no longer here. He was alone, he was so so alone.

He remembered crying. He wasn’t sure he even could. He wasn’t sure of anything. In the darkness, it was silent save for the echoing ticks and the memories of the world’s end. It left him in a pit of despair, alone and pathetic.

Again, he felt the ocarina in his hands. To his surprise, he felt the snow bunny at his heart as well. The Song of Healing… he had to try. Everything felt hopeless, everything burned, but he had to try.

Once more, he felt the song leave his foreign Deku mouth and out through the horns. A sad melody filled the dark air, drifting through like a forgotten child, lost in the forest. Yet, it did not make him sad. Something about this slow and sobbing melody soothed his broken mind, his cold and empty body. He had wanted to cry so much but never could before. Warm tears streamed down his cheeks. He brushed them away with his gloved hand.

Wait… tears? Real tears? And his hands? Lloyd checked over himself, eyes adjusting to the darkness. They were… normal? He was normal!? A wooden thing clattered to the stone floor before him, heavy with burden.

It was a mask. A Deku mask. Lloyd was human again. Lloyd was human again! A fire burned inside him, the fire of hope. Where was he? Inside the Clock Tower again? Gears turned and the ticking of time resumed its normal pace. The earthquakes had stopped?! The bells weren’t ringing?! It wasn’t over!

Lloyd pushed the heavy doors open with ease, his human arms as strong as ever. The sun’s light hit his cheeks and dried away his tears. Clock Town greeted him with a renewed vigor. It was here! It was all still here! The world was saved! Colette! She would be safe too! He needed to see her again, he needed to! He dashed through the streets and between the construction workers.

“Be careful would you!? There’s a lot of work to be done with so little time!” a gruff voice yelled out. Lloyd didn’t bother apologizing, there would be time later for that.

He ran up the steps and through the town and back to the cozy little inn that Colette tended to. Breathless but still so full of energy, he swung the door open, finding her surprised face behind the counter.

“Colette!” Lloyd shouted, his voice finally here, his words making sense. “Colette you’re okay! It’s all okay now! You’re alive and we’re okay!” He hopped over the counter and hugged her so tight, surprising her.

“Um! Um!” Colette stuttered, falling a step back, but not quite struggling out of his embrace. “I’m-I’m sorry, but um, I think you have me confused with someone else?”

Lloyd blinked, wondering why Colette hadn’t hugged back. “Huh?” Then he realized. He was human again! Of course, she didn’t recognize him. “Oh! That’s right, you haven’t actually seen my real self yet!”

“H-huh? Um…”

Lloyd took a step back and smiled, pointing a thumb at his face. “I’m Lloyd! Remember? Or well… ‘Goid’ as you called me. I was the Deku Scrub from before! But now I’m back to normal, I’m human again! I’m so happy to see you again, Colette!”

Colette let out a strained breath, her sparkling blue eyes looking over Lloyd with confusion but nothing quite so unpleasant. Still, why didn’t she hug him back? Sure, he was a human now, but she knew him! She knew him.

“I’m so sorry,” Colette said, clearly overwhelmed. “Who is Goid?”

Lloyd’s heart sank into his stomach. All that joy, all that relief vanished in an instant. His mind reeled. He desperately clawed through his memories for Colette, remembering their warm touches, the kind words, and her endless support even until the end. Her eyes always sparkled with light, even when the moon devoured them.

But now he only saw confusion, fear, sadness. Just like before.

“Do you really not remember me?” Lloyd asked, his voice quieter than he meant it. “We played hide and seek with the Bomber kids, we went on so many walks around town, you always made dinner for me, and we even played those games at the Carnival of Time.” He wanted to reach out to her, to hold her again, but it felt wrong.

Colette blinked. She wringed her hands nervously, grasping her fingers and ungrasping them, trying to think, to remember. She _wanted_ to remember, right? Or did she just not want to make a stranger upset?...

“I’m really really sorry,” Colette finally said, still fiddling with her hands, unable to keep her gaze forward. “You must be thinking of someone else from a different time. The carnival isn’t for three more days. Do you mean last year? I still don’t remember…”

“What? Last year?” Lloyd’s grip on reality shook. “No, it was just last night! The moon was coming down and we thought…”

Colette’s eyes widened at the mention of the moon. Fear jolted through her spine, but she quickly brushed it off. “The… moon fell? No, no, it’s not going to fall, right?” Her voice cracked, but she tried to keep it together. “It’s just a strange phenomenon, right? I think you just had a very bad nightmare…”

What? What could she mean?

Lloyd’s head wasn’t working right. What she was saying didn’t make any sense! Without a word, he left through the front door and back out into Clock Town. The city was bustling so much more than yesterday! But it wasn’t… it wasn’t that packed. It was like before…

His heart turned to ice. Up in the bright sunny blue, the moon glared back. It wasn’t as big. It was even possible to ignore, to pretend it wasn’t there. That’s what Lloyd must have done when he ran up to Colette.

What could this all mean? Was the world really still going to end? Did none of that happen before? Was it all a nightmare? Did any of it matter? No, no, it couldn’t be like this, it couldn’t.

“Um, excuse me,” Colette asked nervously, peeking out of the inn’s entrance. “Are you all right?” She paused. “Lloyd?”

A shiver ran down his spine. She finally said his name. She said it just the same way she always did back before… or… in the future? Or… in his nightmare? But…

Lloyd shook his head and stumbled back into the inn, Colette’s caring eyes still watching over him. Everything was a mess, a weird blur. There had to be something to sort this all out, to make it right in his head. He patted down through his pockets when he felt something warm.

“That’s right!! It’s here!” Lloyd shouted, startling Colette. “The-the-uh-the snow bunny!” He pulled it out over his head, the victory music in his mind playing so triumphantly. “You won me this! You gave this to me!”

A confused Colette gently took the white plush in her palms, cradling it just like before. “This? Oh… it’s so small and cute and warm, just like y-” she stopped herself. “Huh? What am I…”

“Do you remember, Colette?” Lloyd begged.

“I don’t…” Colette closed her eyes and shook her head. “I don’t… know. I don’t understand.”

She was trying so hard to remember. So hard it hurt. Or maybe it was the memories that hurt? Lloyd was finally starting to understand, even if it didn’t make much sense. Maybe it was wrong of him to do this, but like before, he didn’t know what else to do. He took her hand gently, holding the snow bunny in his palm as well.

“Do you at least feel anything? Maybe it’s impossible to remember,” Lloyd said.

Colette shook her head, eyelids trembling under the weight of something she did not want to understand. “It’s … I … I feel warm and… scared. Do I really know you, Lloyd?”

He gave her hand a firm squeeze. “Not yet, I guess. But I hope you will.” He smiled. It was a new day. There was time.


	5. Another Day. Another Night.

It was a new day! A bright and shiny new day! The wind blew a cool draft through his hair, the grass rustled gently or whatever. The sky was probably really blue and blah blah blah, the usual boring clichés. The greatest part of the day wasn’t nature! Well… maybe it was the mother nature. Just the mother. This comparison wasn’t making any sense. Cross that out later.

What Zelos meant to write was that he really liked looking down on women. Like, he LOVED that. Geez, it was great to be alive! So many beautiful girls to stare at and think about and maybe draw. And what did he have to do? Nothing! For anyone! Screw you dad!

He nodded at that last part, grinning to himself. He always made sure to add a ‘screw you, dad’ at least once per page. Today was no different! Although, while the day was great and the women were, as always, beautiful, Zelos couldn’t help but feel something was off. More people were looking up at the sky? Looking worried or something stupid. He wasn’t sure what the big deal was. Zelos was always up in the air, and honestly? Pretty boring! The important things were on the ground. That’s where he kept his focus.

Speaking of things to focus on the ground… A gorgeous red and white blur began to huff by, her amazing body rising and falling with each perfect step. “Heeeeey, hunny! Lookin’ good today!”

“Shut the HELL up, Zelos!” Sheena huffed, face red with sweat and rage. “I’m seriously not in the mood to hear it today!” She continued her run, her usual red bag filled to the brim with letters. Seemed even fuller today. Although Zelos was more interested in her other full bags if you knew what he meant. Zelos grinned at that one. Genius. Classy. Like him.

“Oh, baby, you know I love it when you get angry!” Zelos purred. If he wasn’t already floating, he was sure he’d be up in the clouds the way she looked at him with those murderous eyes. So full of emotion! Ahh! And it was all focused on him! If anyone paid attention to him, it was Sheena. “By the way, have I gotten any mail? Like from-”

“No, your dad hasn’t sent you a letter, jackass,” Sheena shouted. “And I doubt he ever will!”

Zelos gulped. “Oh. That’s good. Not like I’d care, because you know, screw that guy and-she’s gone.” Sheena’s glistening body disappeared into the shadows of the town. What a shame. Well, he got a great view today! Some good drawing inspiration to keep him going.

Yes, focus on the important part first, the boobs… always start with those. Then the curves, oh, goodness, the curves! And the thing connected to those curves, the butt… yes, yes, perfect! Brilliant! He added one more ‘screw you, dad’ for artistic integrity. At some point, Zelos was sure he heard a pop in his ears, but he was way too much in the zone to notice.

Although… hm. Something did feel off. He looked back at his balloon to make sure he didn’t get caught on another weather vane or something. That’s strange. The balloon wasn’t there anymore. But if that was the case…

“Aaaaaaaahhhhgh!!” Zelos screamed, his beautiful face smashing into the gross and stupid dirty dirt.

“If you just listened to me…” an exasperated voice said above him. Male! Unimportant. Zelos quickly scrambled up to his feet angrily to meet his very rude attacker. “Least I got it in one shot this time.” A boy in bright red and dopey overalls stood before him, holding a bow knocked with two arrows.

“What’s the big idea, bud?!”

This guy barely even blinked at Zelos’ very cool and intimidating shriek. “Sorry for bursting your bubble, but I don’t really have time for this,” the guy in red said, putting away the bow at his back.

Zelos noted the two swords at his hips as well. This guy was some kind of adventurer. Did Zelos’ dad send someone to beat him up!? Again?!

“She really will kill you, you know,” the boy said, his eyes distant. Like he was just reciting something he’d said a million times. “Like, seriously, Zelos. Sheena will kill you if you keep messing with her.”

Zelos blinked. “How do-”

“How do I know your name?” the guy interrupted with a sigh. “I know, I know. You’re also going to say, ‘How did you know I was going to say that?’ even though I literally am still saying it right now.”

“How did you know I was going to sa-” Zelos gulped. His mind reeled.

“ _‘What the hell,’_ ” the guy said tonelessly, straight out of Zelos’ lips before he could say it. “ _‘Who are you, bud? How do you know what I’m going to say?_ ’ That’s what you’re going to say, and usually this is enough to get you to believe me when I say I’m a time traveler.”

Huh. What. What?! Zelos could barely process it, but somehow, he believed the guy.

“Right, so that’s out of the way,” the guy went on quickly, staring up at the sky. “Sheena is going to kill you tonight. You don’t want to believe it, but she is going to kill you. I have tried to talk her out of it, but she won’t hear it from me. She refuses to let anyone control her. You have to be the one to talk to her.”

Sheena was really… huh? That can’t be…

“No, it’s true. She kills you, Zelos,” the guy’s eyes pierced into his. How was it that this dude could look into Zelos like this? He really must have been a time traveler, right? But that’s insane! “You can’t keep messing with her like this. This isn’t the kind of person you are or who you want to be. You don’t have to be like this just because your dad never respected you. You’re not as bad as he thinks you are. As _you_ think you are.”

Zelos gulped again. Something stabbed at his chest. Painfully. Somehow, he could imagine watching his own blood dripping out of his wrists. But that wasn’t even the part that hurt the most.

The boy blinked. “Oh, that’s right, the most important part of this speech to really get through to you…” He looked Zelos straight in the eye again and said it with such a rehearsed yet honest bravado. “Screw your dad! He IS an ass! But you don’t need to be him! You don’t need his respect! You don’t need him!”

“Bud, how…” Zelos managed to finally get out. But by then, it was too late. This guy was already sprinting off towards the eastern part of Clock Town.

“Remember! Be nice to her! She’s only going to kill you because she’s sad and the world is ending! Good luck!”

This was all a lot to process…

* * *

Tick… tick… tick… tick…

It didn’t matter anymore. Nothing mattered anymore. Tick… tick… tick… tick.

Tick… tick… tick…

It was imprinted into her skull. No matter where she ran, no matter where she was, the clock was always ticking, always counting down. And now, if that weren’t enough, the moon was nothing more than a ticking time bomb. Even still, the postal service refused to relieve her of duty, refused to listen to her plight. It wasn’t important. She wasn’t important. Deliver the mail. Get it done. Rain or snow, frozen mountainside or dead cliffs, get those letters delivered. It’s the only thing you’re good at. Even then, it’s not good enough.

Even then you’ll make a mistake. You’ll deliver it late. They’ll reprimand you, they’ll sit you down and only talk to you when you mess up. They’ll remind you again and again that you messed up, that they’re disappointed in you, that you should be doing better by now. You don’t take the job seriously enough. You don’t care about anyone else, about their letters to friends and family, especially in dire looking times like these?

But who cares about her, huh? She never has time. She NEVER has time. No one even knew who she was. The only one…

_Him._

At first, it was nice. It was nice to be noticed by _someone._ She didn’t feel like an invisible robot, whose only purpose in life was to serve others. He always greeted her, he always yelled something at her. But it was always about her looks. Was that all that mattered? How she looked? He noticed every little thing.

It was so invasive. She dreaded the moments she had to go through North Clock Town. In fact, she even tried to avoid it when possible, but then she lost time on her deliveries. _They_ noticed her mistakes, her slower times. She had to decide, what was worse? Them or him?

_They_ were. Of course, they were. She _hated_ them. But she also hated him. Hated him for making her job harder. Hated him for being the only one to notice her, to be the only one who seemed to care, yet it was for all the wrong reasons.

And she was sick of it. There was nothing left in this world. They were all going to die. Everyone. Including him. Why not give herself one thing? Why not let her have one nice thing before she died? The ability to go to North Clock Town and not be noticed. The ability to enjoy the silence of her own mind.

Tick… Tick… Tick…

Even that was impossible.

It didn’t matter. She wanted one thing. She was never allowed one thing. Never allowed anything. Now, though, now she would get what she wanted. She would take it. No one could tell her she was wrong anymore. No one.

She hid in the shadows of night. It was what she was good at. No one ever noticed her anyways. No one even knew her actual background. No one bothered to ask. The moon glared down at her, like _they_ did when she made a mistake. No more. They wouldn’t have power over her. Not anymore.

She scanned the area. It was always quiet and empty at this time of night. No one around except for a sleepy guard and _him._ Zelos. It took her a moment to find him. His stupid green tights blended in with the grass. He wasn’t carried by his balloon for some reason. Perfect. It was like the world was begging for this to happen. Begging to finally for her to take this. This insignificant thing.

His back was turned. He stood in the distance, away from the guard’s sight. He wasn’t moving much either. Probably absorbed in that stupid notebook of his, drawing his disgusting and perverted drawings of her.

Her heart pounded. Tick… tick… pound.Pound.poundpoundpoundpound.

The ticking was gone. It was finally gone. Her heart pounded so loud. She had always imagined this. It was really happening. She was really going to do it. He was dead anyway. She was doing him a favor. Why couldn’t he have just?...

No.

Her feet were already moving forward. Letters crinkled in her fingers, ready to be let loose into the air with deadly force. She was always good with paper. No one took her seriously. No one expected it to hurt as badly as it did. No one expected her to be deadly.

And yet he still wasn’t moving. Even in all of her dreams, it never went this perfectly. Zelos usually screamed or cat called her even in her own imagination. But he was quiet now. He was always so nice when he was quiet. When he was quiet, he almost… he almost seemed like… and now he would be quiet forever.

She broke into a sprint. Poundpoundpoundpoundpoundpound. It was gone. It was gone! She was free. It was all over, everything was over! This stupid world, her pathetic life, it was over and done! Somewhere inside, she could see the blood on her fingers, on her face, the warm emptiness that splashed across her body. It didn’t fix anything. It didn’t matter.

Zelos must have heard her footsteps. Surprising. He usually didn’t notice when his own balloon popped. His eyes went wide with fear, finally. Finally. It was him that was afraid. He believed her, too, didn’t he? He knew what she was capable of! He, of all people, he knew her! He knew she would kill him!

He held up his hands, but it didn’t matter. There was nothing he could do or say to stop this. There was noth-

“Sheena! Wait! I’m sorry!”

Sheena practically tripped over herself. He had never called her by her name before. Barely anyone ever did. And… he had never apologized. Ever. EVER. Why now? It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered. It was a desperate attempt to slink out of his punishment. She tackled Zelos to the ground, knocking the wind out of both of them. She raised her weapons into the air. She had a clear view of his neck. It would be so easy.

“Sheena, please, listen to me,” Zelos said quietly. He wasn’t screaming? “I know I never listened to you, I know I don’t deserve to be listened to. I just want you to hear me say I’m sorry.” His eyes didn’t gleam with that playful impish glow anymore. A familiar emptiness reflected in them. “If you still want to kill me, then that’s all right. I understand. But just hear me. I’m sorry.”

“…the hell are you saying?” Sheena’s breathed out. His neck glimmered under the moon’s glare, it whispered sweet promises of death and power. She would be in control, finally. Why stop now?

“I’ve been an ass to you,” Zelos went on. He didn’t even struggle under her grip. Like he had just given up. Like he’d just accepted it. “I know I was. I knew it. I always did.”

Just kill him. Get it over with. He doesn’t care about you. No one does. Die with dignity.

“Then why? Huh? Why did you keep bothering me!?” Sheena found herself saying. Why wouldn’t she just kill him!?

“I-I don’t know! I just! I always saw something in you that I could relate to! I said those awful things because it’s just… it’s all I knew and,” he groaned at himself, pressing his palms against his face in frustration. “That’s not a good excuse, I know. I’m just an idiot. And I’m sorry.”

“You ARE an idiot!” Sheena yelled, her fingers twitching. She was so close! Why couldn’t she just… “It’s NOT a good excuse! You’re right! For once in your life, you’re right! You don’t get to treat me like that forever and just expect me to forgive you!”

“I’m sorry.” Zelos looked up into the sky. The moon’s glare met his. “I’m just always in my own head. I should have noticed.”

“You worthless…” Sheena started, but the words wouldn’t come. Her fists clenched as she tried to force her body to move, but everything was screaming at once to do one thing and another. “You can’t…”

“I know I’m worthless. I know.” He sighed.

“You can’t take this away from me, too!” Sheena screamed. “It’s not fair. I had one thing! This was going to be my one thing! For me!” Something warm was running down her cheeks. Was it raining? “You can’t even let me have this!?”

Zelos looked away. “Sorry, Sheena.”

The letters in her fingers were ruined. They wouldn’t hurt anyone in this state. She was shaking too much, she had crushed them too much. “Shut up! Stop saying that! Stop pretending! Stop lying!”

“I’m not lying,” Zelos paused. “I don’t think. I don’t know. I _think_ I’m sorry. It’s hard to tell. I’m trying my best to be honest, but it never really feels like I am.”

“You don’t THINK you’re lying?!” Sheena pounded the dirt next to his useless face. He didn’t even flinch. “That’s all you can give me?!”

“That’s it. Yeah.” Zelos sighed. “I don’t know. You can kill me if you want. Honestly, I wouldn’t even mind. But I don’t know if you want to do that.”

Tick… tick… tick…

“I do! I do want to kill you!”

“Then that’s fine,” Zelos said passively. “But I guess… since I was so awful to you, I figure I can at least try to make it up before we all die. Either let you kill me, or we can spend the last moments talking. Maybe even try to run away and hide somewhere.”

“TALK? You want to talk with me!?” Sheena pounded another fist so close to his face. So close… “I’m trying to kill you and you want to talk with me?! What’s the matter with you?!”

Finally, he smirked. And it was the only time it ever felt real. “I don’t know. If you want, we can talk at length about all my faults.”

“Damn it. Damn it. DAMN it.”

“We could talk about anything. It doesn’t matter. Anywhere but here. This place… it sucks doesn’t it?” Zelos sighed. “And you know what? I’ll throw in a special deal. If we run away and go have our chats and you still decide you want to kill me? Go ahead. Fair enough. You decide.”

_You decide._

“I… decide?” Sheena repeated dumbly.

“Yep. You take control of this situation,” Zelos leaned back and smiled. “I’ve never been one to make my own decisions. Usually just let the wind blow me wherever, you know? Easier that way. I’d probably just make the wrong choice, so why bother?”

The pounding inside her skull finally receded. It didn’t deafen her, yet… the ticking was quieter as well. Maybe…

She stood up. She was in control. “Fine.” Sheena held out a hand. “Let’s go. Right now.”

Zelos stared at her palm, unbelieving. He kept himself in the dirt. “Really?...”

“Hurry up,” Sheena growled. “Before I change my mind and decide to kill you after all.”

Zelos grinned, grabbing her hand. She pulled him up with ease. “All right! Kooloo-limpah, baby! Where we headed!?”

“Don’t ever say that again,” Sheena hissed, already making her way to the town’s exit. “And just keep up. We’re going wherever I feel like.”

Zelos gave her the OK sign with his hand. “You got it, Sheena!”

The night wind blew through the park. Rain began to pitter against her skull, soothing the hot pain in her mind. The ticking was drowned out. She left the town with Zelos close behind. She was in control.


	6. How Many Has it Been?

The days had been going by both too slowly and too quickly for Colette. The Carnival of Time was coming up and that was usually the inn’s busiest time! She made sure to keep all the rooms fresh, change the sheets, leave little bits of her own decorative flair to make each one unique. Grandma Phaidra didn’t approve but said it probably didn’t matter.

There was the doggy room! It had a cute stuffed doggy on the table. Then there was the _double_ doggy room! (Or room 2.) It had _two_ cute stuffed doggies on the table! Colette made sure to press them close together. One was a fluffy golden retriever, and the other was a bright red… er… that was a fox wasn’t it? Well, she only just realized this now. It was close enough! And the third room was the _triple_ doggy room!

… She had run out of stuffed doggies for that room. But she did put some cute doggy patterned blankets on the bed! She didn’t _tell_ anyone it was the triple doggy room, seeing as there weren’t three doggies, but she thought it to herself really hard. And that made her happy.

She needed that happiness. She clutched it, fumbled with it. It had been hard to keep close lately. The moon had turned so frightening so suddenly this week and no one knew why. Even Professor Sage wasn’t quite sure. Mayor Regal didn’t know how to handle such an odd situation either, but the construction worker, Dirk, had argued vehemently that the only thing it was doing was scaring away tourists.

And that’s all it was, right? Just a scary thing in the sky. It would pass. Most likely. However, the empty silence of her inn left her with not much else to think. She even tried making breakfast a few times! Of course, she failed at it, still, but she was getting better! Professor’s Sage’s lessons would kick in some day… Luckily, Granny was still around to make something.

Still…every year around this time, Colette had grown so accustomed to the usual hustle and bustle of happy strangers outside and in. Yet here she was, sitting in front of a dusty counter, fiddling with her dress, thinking about that awful moon. The dread she felt when she thought about it, the terror that boiled in her stomach, that-

“Hi, Colette!” a voice boomed, closing the door softly so as to not startle her. Strange. Most new comers accidently slam the door. And most didn’t know her name?

“Oh, hello!” Colette stood up and brought a smile to her face. Usually it felt fake, but for now, she was happy to take her mind off darker subjects. Not to mention this stranger was quite, well… strange.

A pair of floppy bunny ears bounced up and down over his brown hair. His bright red outfit was sure to catch anyone’s eye, even in a crowded town like it was meant to be now. He had plenty of pockets and hiding spots for things across his overalls and a pair of sharp swords at his side. Normally Colette would be intimidated by such weapons, which was why she trained herself in the use of weapons of her own. For some reason this adventurer didn’t scare her.

“I’m sorry, I’m terrible with faces,” Colette continued. “Do I know you? Or do you have a reservation with us?”

The adventurer quickly ran up to the counter, his movements as swift as a bunny. His smile blinded her, tore away the darkness in her heart. “I’m Lloyd. We’ve met many times. Many many times.”

Colette’s heart quickened, hopping as fast as a bunny, too. “O-oh? We have?” It was so strange. He did feel familiar, but she was certain she had never met this boy. Or maybe it was just he was so familiar with her?... Maybe he was a conman?...

“I’m not a conman,” Lloyd said with a smile. Colette practically fell over herself, hands gripping each other in an attempt to keep her emotions in check. “You didn’t say it out loud, and I’m not a mind reader.” He took the words right out of her mouth! Right out of her mind before she even thought it! How…

“Uh-um-uh…”

“Here. This usually helps.” Lloyd placed a small white furred plushie into her hands. It felt so warm, so well-worn.

“What is…” Colette brushed a thumb over its leafy ears, giggling at the thought of Lloyd wearing that funny hood around town with her. But wait, when did that happen?

“I’ll be staying in the double doggy room like always,” Lloyd said happily. “Right next to the triple doggy room.”

“Huh?” Colette kept her nervous hands on the snow bunny, brushing it with her thumb, its cute little nose keeping her mind in check. “I’ve never told anyone those names…”

“You told me,” Lloyd said, sitting on the counter. Through all the smiling, he looked so tired too. “A few times actually.” His eyes, while bright and full of energy, held an exhausted dull sheen. Inside was a nervousness that Colette could feel all too well.

“How…”

“It takes some time to process,” Lloyd said, his voice coming out slower. “You usually take this pretty well at this point, so I’ll just tell you straight up. I’m a time traveler. I’ve been going through the past three days a whole bunch. I’m trying to stop…” He bit his lip before muttering, “No, don’t mention that, it makes her nervous…”

A… time traveler? In her inn!? Just renting a room? And Colette knew him? It must have been a joke but…

“I’m really tired,” Lloyd admitted. She noticed the dark bags under his eyes. “I’ve finally finished the temple at Snowhead and I think I’m going to use these three days to relax. I’ve earned myself a break.”

Snowhead? She had never been, but again, something strange flitted through her mind. Howling winds and piercing snow and Lloyd and darkness…

“Try not to worry about it too much, okay, Colette?” Lloyd’s smile faded. His hands clutched at the counter. “It’s been a rough time. I’m just happy to see you again.” He hopped down and rummaged through his pockets before plopping down a shiny gold Rupee.

A gold Rupee!? That was worth way more than what Colette usually charged!

“Don’t worry about it. I’ve got so much,” Lloyd waved it off. “And I’ll just get it back anyway.” His eyes fell to the snow bunny she had not stopped stroking since the start. “You can hold onto it while I rest. I probably won’t be able to sleep long…” he looked away. “Just, you know, make sure you give it back and you don’t lose it okay? It’s really important to me. To both of us.”

“Um… okay,” Colette said slowly, her mind a whirlwind of thoughts and memories and times long gone.

“And, hey, I’m sorry about this,” Lloyd looked down at the floor. “I know we’re meeting again for the first time right now for you, but do you mind if I hug you? I know, it’s weird, it’s just… agh. Sorry. I need some more sleep.”

The words fell out of her faster than even this rabbit boy could react to.

“You can.” How strange. She didn’t even consider no being an option. It was so natural.

“Huh? Really? Been getting this faster and faster,” he said to himself with a proud grin. Colette nodded. “All right, here I come, I hope you don’t mind if I rush a little!”

And in a flash, he had hopped over the counter, somehow not knocking over a single thing from her cluttered desk. His embrace was warm, much like the snow bunny. It was foreign yet familiar. His hands moved at her sides in such a way that never felt invasive. His arms pressed against her back, knowing just the spots to squeeze, knowing her body better than even she did. It took a moment, but Colette did not want to fight against it.

There were many uncertain things, many nerve wracking and terrifying shadows that drifted through her mind. Their time would come, but she did not know when, and she did not know how. Yet through it all, Lloyd was here to make it easier. Lloyd was one unknown she could hold close, something she didn’t have to be afraid to accept.

She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed back tight.

* * *

The next day… was such a blur. Lloyd took her out to Termina field. He had been crying so much. He apologized and held her close, refusing to let go for even a moment.

“You usually get a kick out of this!” Lloyd said, lips splayed in a grin, eyes as bright as the sun.

But… wait. Hadn’t he been crying? He was saying sorry over and over. Colette tried so hard to understand.

“I didn’t think you would… I was sure I could protect you, and if anything went wrong, well I could just go back right?” Lloyd said, clinging to her confused and crumbled form. The sun was setting.

“Here, check this out,” Lloyd continued, his cheeks dry, his lips placed gently upon a pretty ocarina. “I’ve been getting way better at it.”

And yet at the same time, he sobbed, he ran his hands through his hair, he pulled at the roots, and he kept apologizing. “I just wanted you to be with me… I got too greedy, too selfish, Colette. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay, Lloyd,” she had said. She barely understood what he was apologizing for, but she knew he meant it, she knew it meant something to him.

Lloyd flinched. “Huh? What do you mean?” He put the ocarina down to his side. “Is it that bad?”

“Huh?” Colette shook her head, the setting sun over Termina fields creating mischievous shadows across the lands. “No, I’m sorry, it was good! I really love to listen to you play.”

Lloyd frowned. “I didn’t start yet…”

“I… I saw you die Colette…”

And the wind blew through her, so cold. So cold. It bit into her flesh, it pulled her down into a dark slumber where even Lloyd’s warmth couldn’t reach.

“Hey… Colette, are you all right?”

“It was my fault. I didn’t mean to, I just, I thought I could fix it! I thought it wouldn’t matter, I didn’t pay close enough attention…I didn’t think how badly it could go or what might happen…”

Noishe nuzzled under her arm sweetly. His big fluffy coat was always so cuddly, so good for hugging! She pressed her forehead against his, the huge doggy letting out excitable whines, licking her giggling face as Lloyd cried and begged for forgiveness. No, that wasn’t right… she hadn’t met Noishe yet…

“And the worst part? I’m just upset that I had to _see_ it. I’m so pathetic. You died and I’m just feeling sorry for myself! I’m so stupid, I’m so stupid!”

She clung to Lloyd then, the wind rushing through her hair. Noishe let out little yips of enjoyment and fear as they rushed past some oblivious monsters towards the sparkling bay, just like they had always done? Or done so often? Or did it just feel like that?... She had always dreamed of riding a giant doggy like this! And… she always had?

“I’m feeling a little better. But are you okay, Colette? After…”

“I’m fine!” she had said. And at that moment, she was! Most of the time, she was! Colette was just happy to share her final moments with Lloyd. At least she would die with him close… … … no… she wouldn’t.

“No, you’ve been acting confused.” Lloyd brushed a strand of hair from her face, revealing the sparkling water of the bay, the night stars twinkling as they laid at the beach. “This happens sometimes… I think it’s when I move too fast or I give you too much or talk too much… Usually by the second day you have it more together. I’m so sorry Colette. I’m so sorry. I still haven’t fixed it yet. It’s just so hard. It’s so hard when you forget me every time.”

“It’s not your fault. I’m sorry. I don’t mean to forget you...”

“Huh? I didn’t say that, er…” Lloyd cursed. “Okay, I said that a few resets past. Stupid thing for me to say. It puts way too much pressure on you.”

And then they had their first kiss. Like all the other first kisses, it sent waves of electricity through her spine, it shook away all the confusion, all the fear, all the darkness clouding inside her. It made the moon feel like it wasn’t about to come crashing down in just a few minutes.

The bells rang. The ground quaked beneath her feet. The moon was here. She held Lloyd tight. He squeezed back, his smile strained. It looked like something he’d been through so many times. Something he understood so well, yet still had trouble accepting. The end was here already?

“I’ll be back,” Lloyd said, reaching for his ocarina. “Don’t worry. You won’t have to experience this. I’ll make sure of it,” he said. Like he always said. “I love you, Colette. It will be okay.”

But everything was moving too fast. The world blurred into a mess of red and rock, her mind ringing… ringing… ringing… His hand left hers, and in this, something inside her cracked like the earth around her.

“Wait! Lloyd, please don’t go! I’m scared, I’m so scared, I don’t understand what’s going on…”

Lloyd bit his lip. The sky was already so hot, already nothing but rock and destruction. “I’m so sorry, Colette. But I’m going to reset time, all right? This won’t happen, you don’t have to w-”

“But what if it still does?!” Colette cried, tears dripping down her cheeks. She was gasping for air. “What if I still die every time? What if I die every time, and I’m alone? I’m so scared, Lloyd, I’m so scared, I don’t want to die.”

And his eyes had gotten so wide then. He dropped the Ocarina, holding her tight one final time. “I don’t… know if that happens,” the stranger said. “But I can’t find out. I have to save us. I have to save you.”

She feels so hollow. So cold. So afraid. Her breath is gone, her feeling is gone. It’s numb and blank and black. Is she in pain? She isn’t sure. Maybe not physical.

“Please promise you’ll be back?” Colette found herself saying, back at her counter. She stroked the delicate snow bunny in her fingers. It kept her calm in these stressful times before the carnival.

“I’ll be back. I promise,” the adventurer in red said sternly, leaving through the inn’s front door in a rush.

Who was he? He had paid so much and left her with this cute snow bunny. She shook her head. Best not to worry.

She kept the snow bunny close to her heart as she worked.


	7. No More Days

Colette hadn’t been doing well lately. Lloyd knew it was his fault. There was no other possibility. No one else in town ever recognized him like she did sometimes. No one else seemed to lose themselves to time that never happened. No one else got lost in conversations like she did.

Agh, he was so stupid! He was so selfish! He told himself that he was doing it for her, making sure she wouldn’t be lonely in these awful last three days every time, but… he was doing it for himself too.

It wasn’t something he liked to admit, but it was lonely. So lonely. Resetting time over and over again, being forgotten by everyone in town, and watching it all fall apart every time. There was no one he could turn to that could understand this phenomenon. He had asked Professor Sage a few times, but she couldn’t figure it out. She’d never seen anything like it, and after three days, she would forget everything anyway.

No one could understand what Lloyd was going through. The only one who came close was Colette. But that was only because he put so much on her, because he relied on her so much. So, so much. In those days where nothing went right, when the dark musty dungeons seemed impossible to traverse, and the poison or the cold seeped into his bones, he had no one to turn to but her.

She would always listen to him, she would always hear him out. Even when she barely knew him, her kindness shown through, and she believed him, tried to comfort him. He wasn’t alone when she was around. Even in this awful loop of death, she was always there for him.

But now, he could only stand back, outside the inn, and watch the girl he loved go about her day quietly. How desperately he wanted to burst in and greet her again, how desperately he wanted to remind her of himself and see the way her eyes lit up. She was lonely, too. He knew. There were many times she told him how nice it was to suddenly meet someone who knew everything about her, who just loved her for who she was, and she didn’t even know!

And yet, it made the final day so much harder. For her. For him. And during his last three days with her, she finally said something he’d never heard her say before. Something he never quite though of, or at least something he didn’t want to think about. She had been so confused, so scared. Her memories mixed in with others, and her perception of time became warped, because Lloyd selfishly needed someone, needed _her_ to help him on his quest.

What if she really was dying every time? What if he really was leaving her every time to die alone in this awful catastrophe? Making dozens, maybe hundreds, of new timelines of Colettes all alone and scared.

Colette exited the inn briefly to hang up one of her favorite doggy blankets to dry. Her eyes met with Lloyd’s, and a glimmer of confusion and cheer shone in them. She waved to him happily, not sure who he was. She kept the snow bunny in her hands.

Lloyd waved back but didn’t dare speak. He didn’t want to mess her up any more than he already had. Maybe she just needed some time to herself, to let things go on repeat a few times. But at the same time, wouldn’t she still die all alone to herself? Never knowing someone out there loved her so much?

That was why he gave her the snow bunny. Maybe she didn’t know who it came from, but she did seem to love it all the same, always carrying it around with her during chores and trips through the town. He never had to worry about her losing it. Even when he reset, she still ended up with the bunny. It was at least one thing to find relief in during these lonely three days.

He watched her return to the inn. She gave him one last goodbye wave, as if she knew he was leaving, as if she knew who he was but not quite. He’d watched her from a distance, as ashamed as that made him, and she didn’t usually wave to everyone like this. This was the most he could do for now until she was feeling better.

He truly hoped she would feel better. If what he had done to her was irreversible… he didn’t know what he’d do. He didn’t like to think on it. Lloyd had already made too many mistakes with her. Like when he took her to Snowhead to help with the temple and she…

He could still remember her empty eyes. How it was his fault. He had reset as fast as he could, so scared, so ashamed.

He never took her on adventures again. He couldn’t bear the thought of witnessing it. He couldn’t bear the thought of what it might have done to her.

Lloyd shook his head. It wasn’t doing any good to ruminate on that. Colette was here now. Whatever ‘now’ meant, he wasn’t sure, but she was alive, she was happy… for now. She had the snow bunny. It would have to do.

There wasn’t time to relax anymore. Not if it meant messing Colette up. He had to make his way back to that awful Stone Temple and try. It didn’t matter that his mind still reeled from the world turning upside down, it didn’t matter that his body still ached with cuts and bruises from the monsters and traps that awaited him. It didn’t matter that deep in the darkness of those wells, the dead lurked ceaselessly to bite and scratch, or those creepy people threatened to assassinate him at any moment.

He had to keep going. He couldn’t waste these days. No matter if he could reset. Even if he wasn’t sure that Colette experienced a lonely death every time, it didn’t matter. He wouldn’t take that risk anymore. He needed to do this for her, or he needed to hurry up and fail so she could at least rest.

He had to keep going.

* * *

Bells exploded in his skull once again. The earth beneath his feet trembled for its last moments. It had been so long. So many days gone by, so many failed attempts to rescue everyone, to save Colette from this terrible fate. But maybe this time, it could finally be different. Maybe this time, Lloyd wouldn’t fail. Maybe this time, he would see a new day and finally see Colette live past today.

He scrambled up the clock tower’s steps, fumbling through the darkness as the quake’s knocked him off his feet. Colette wasn’t here to help him up this time. As selfish as it was, he couldn’t bear the thought of failing again in front of her. He couldn’t bear the thought of seeing her die again. He wouldn’t make these last three days harder on her than they already were. He had already made so many mistakes, had already messed her up so much.

Now, however, he could finally atone for all his selfishness, for his over reliance on Colette. If he could just fix this, if he could stop Mithos and stop this moon, it would be okay. It had to be. Then maybe, he could finally show his face to Colette again.

“Well hello there,” Mithos said again, just like last time. His voice echoed inside Lloyd’s mind, and Majora’s Mask looked through him. “Come for a front row seat to the end of the world I presume?”

“Not this time,” Lloyd grunted, reaching for his ocarina. After all his work in the temples, after everything he’d done, he finally had the power to stop this moon. The sleeping giants would awaken, they would protect this land as they had done so long ago. They would stop this hell that Mithos or… that mask… had created.

He placed his lips against it and began to play that horribly somber song. He made sure to memorize it, he made sure to practice it, he couldn’t mess this up. No matter how much it made his heart ache. It would call them, and the four giants even in their slumbering sadness, they would stop it, they would save everyone.

Something in his heart froze. A cold darkness took hold of him, stole the breath right out of his body. The notes wouldn’t play. The yellowed eyes of Majora’s Mask stared, devoured his sight.

“How stupid do you think I am?” Mithos hissed, swiping the ocarina from Lloyd’s hands. An invisible force held Lloyd still, tendrils of nothing but fear and anger held him down, left him powerless but to look upon Mithos. “Did you really think I would just let you ruin my plan with that song of yours?”

Mithos laughed, a disgusting bile inducing laugh, tossing the ocarina in his cold hands.

“You’ll die just like my sister did. You’ll lose everything just like I did. Everyone will lose everything. If I must lose everything, then so must _everyone._ It’s only fair.”

The bells continued their death wails, louder, louder. The air was set alight again, and the moon began its final decent, its wrath burning brighter than any star in the universe. And now Lloyd couldn’t even reset.

He was such a failure. Majora’s Mask pierced him, looked deep inside his heart and found its empty and hollow fears. It clutched at the darkness inside and dragged it out with a glee.

Lloyd had done all this, he had tortured Colette through all these deaths, all this constant pain and torment, all for her to still die? All for everything to still end? All Lloyd had done is torture her before killing her, all Lloyd had done was ruin everything, make it all so much worse. All for his own selfish desires, all for his own fears and loneliness. She suffered for nothing, and it was all his fault.

“Now you almost understand,” Mithos hissed, his voice dripping in malice. “Now you can almost feel what I feel.” It spoke inside him, it cried out in pain. “When we die, it will not be the end. The suffering will continue. The darkness will devour us. Then you will understand. Then we will all share that pain for eternity. There will be no rest. We do not deserve it.”

Lloyd could no longer fight it. His body became limp. Was the mask even holding him anymore? Did it need to? It didn’t matter. He wouldn’t be able to stop it anyway. He had never been able to stop it. Why should now be any different? He was just prolonging the inevitable. He deserved to die alone. He deserved to be forgotten by Colette. He hadn’t done anything right.

“Lloyd!” a voice called out through the destruction. “Lloyd!” It cried again.

And just like the time before, a chakram flew and struck Mithos, knocking the ocarina out of his hands.

Lloyd fell to the ground with a gasp, unable to comprehend. Soft hands pulled him to his feet, golden hair tickled his nose, and a gentle voice brought him out of his despair.

“Lloyd! That’s… that’s your name isn’t it?” Colette’s tiny voice dripped into his ear, desperate to be heard. “You gave me this,” she said breathlessly, placing a warm fuzzy object into his hand. “But that… wasn’t how it went. _I_ gave it to _you_. _You_ were supposed to keep it.”

It had been so long since he’d seen her again, so long since she said his name. Lloyd shook his head, trying to regain his former self, much like she was. “Colette? Do you really remember?”

“I… I think so. It took me a few days to understand, but I knew you’d be here because-”

_“ENOUGH!”_ Mithos’ voice boomed. It barely sounded like him anymore. “You will not stop this! I will take what is owed to me!” His limbs moved like a puppet on a string as he dived for the ocarina.

And yet again, he was stopped. But this time by something hot, something burning, something exploding. Like a bomb.

“Mithos! Stop this right now!” Genis screamed, scrambling up the steps with his sister close behind. “I thought we were friends! Why are you doing this to us?!”

“Genis?!” Mithos’ voice was low, barely heard over the bells. It sounded like a boy’s again.

“… I told Genis and Professor Sage everything,” Colette went on. The mask was distracted, not quite in control as it wanted to be. “It was all so confusing, I didn’t know who else to turn to. Professor Sage explained it was most likely this boy, and the memories of you… and everything…”

The Professor stood by her brother’s side. Her eyes reflected the fires of the moon, but they did not appear as hopeless as Lloyd remembered. “There’s no time,” Sage said, keeping her glare focused on the struggling Mithos. “Do whatever you need to do. Be quick about it!”

Lloyd nodded. There was no time. There was never any time. He took the ocarina and began to play that lonely tune, a song that would awaken those with an oath to order, that protected the world against chaos. The hollow notes filled him with despair, filled him with loneliness, but he realized that he could share that feeling with Colette. With others. When they joined together, it wasn’t quite so bad.

“Stop it…” Mithos said weakly, his trembling hands grasping at the mask’s face. “What are you doing?”

“This can’t be what you really want, Mithos!” Genis went on, the somber notes of Lloyd’s song drifting out to Termina, past the bells, past the quakes. “We’re friends! Even now, we’re friends!”

“You’re faking it,” Mithos said, the puppet strings struggling to control him. “You don’t actually care. You’re only afraid for your life. This is just a stupid cliché!”

The earth shook once more, but this time it wasn’t from its death throes. Something from the four corners of the lands were coming. Colette clung to him just as she always had in their final moments. Lloyd returned her desperate embrace with his own, needing her touch even more than she did.

“Maybe I am just afraid,” Genis admitted. “Maybe, maybe I am just saying this because I don’t want to die. That would be the logical thing to do wouldn’t it?”

“Genis!” Professor Sage shouted.

“No, Raine, I won’t lie to him. That’s what caused this whole thing. I will admit you weren’t always the best friend, and the things you did… they weren’t right. But I still liked you as a friend. I still felt like I understood you, I felt like you understood me! I never thought anyone else did.”

“I… I don’t.... This doesn’t make any sense,” Mithos gripped the edge of the mask.

“You know what?” Genis gulped. Four impossibly large figures towered over them, their hands reaching out and grasping the moon’s wrath, embracing it. “I don’t know if matters if you do. I think it’s too late.”

Mithos’ neck almost snapped as it swiveled towards the sky. “No. No, no, no! NO. I’m not done yet! I won’t go back to being powerless! I can’t lose this!”

“Give up, Mithos! It’s not worth it! We can try again, we can try to be friends again!”

“NO! IT WON’T WORK, IT NEVER DOES! I CAN’T LOSE THIS TOO!” Mithos wailed.

The four giants struggled. The moon’s rage scorched their fingers, burned their flesh, but they held strong. There was time, finally. This was farther than Lloyd had ever seen. It should have all started over again, or it should have all ended. But somehow, he was still here, still with Colette.

“IT’S NOT FAIR. IT’S NOT FAIR. I WANT TO DIE. I WANT EVERYONE TO DIE WITH ME.”

Mithos’ body fell to the earth and the mask along with him. His cries could no longer be heard by everyone, his tears were nothing more than drops of water. Genis ran to his friend, despite the Professor’s protests.

And then… Something happened. Something Lloyd had never seen before. Something new. Time was still going. Time would go on. He would live on. Colette would live on. They would all finally move forward. Light began to seep into the skies. The sun was rising. It was blinding even. Colette held him tightly as the dawn of a new day approached, the dawn of the unknown, of a new beginning.


	8. Dawn of a New Day

“Welcome to the inn!” Lloyd and Colette shouted in cheery unison, greeting their possible new customer. The sun shone through the windows, dancing with the shadows of dozens of travelers and town folk. A gentle murmur of laughs and chattering could be heard past the inn’s entrance as people still spoke of the great Carnival of Time and all the fun and food it had to offer.

“It’s just me,” Sheena said with a sigh, her usual red backpack filled with letters like always.

“Oh! Hello, Sheena!” Colette clapped her hands together, her smiles finally unchained by the constant anxiety of the moon.

“Hi, Sheena!” Lloyd added, waving enthusiastically. The sight of her tired and overworked form gave Lloyd a strange sensation in his stomach. Sort of like he was forgetting something. Forgetting someone?

Sheena raised an eyebrow. “Do I know you?”

Huh. Maybe Lloyd had forgotten to introduce himself to her during his last reset? Hm, but why did that make him so nervous? Why did that make his hands tremble? What could he have forgotten?

Lloyd’s heart skipped a beat, and he sputtered.

“… are you okay?”

Lloyd hopped over the counter, rushing to Sheena, pulling her as gently as he could to the side without being too forceful.

“Hey, what the hell are you doing?! What’s your problem?!”

“Sheena, wait, sorry, ow, sorry, just!!” Lloyd grasped her shoulders desperately, wracking his mind as he tried to remember just what he did during his last reset. Did he remember to warn…

“No, you listen to me! I don’t need to take this kind of thing anymore!” Sheena tried to keep her voice down, but her fury was justified.

“Um, is … um… everything okay?” Colette asked meekly behind the counter.

“It’s fine!” Lloyd said before returning his gaze to Sheena. He looked over her body for any kind of marks or stains. He lowered his voice. “Sheena! Did… did… have…”

“Ugh, what’s your problem! What do you want?!” Sheena asked, her face flushed red.

That red reminded Lloyd… it was as red as that guy’s hair. As red as the blood…

“You didn’t… you know…” Lloyd whispered, afraid to even speak it out loud. Who knows who would hear?? Lloyd couldn’t reset time again! It’d been more than three days! He fixed everything! Oh, no… but then that death would be on his hands…

“Hey! Spit it out already!” Sheena said furiously.

“You didn’t… you know… Zelos? Did… where is he? I haven’t seen him around actually and…”

“ _What?!_ ”

“Look, if you did, I won’t tell anyone, I just … I need to know and…”

“Are you insane?!”

“I don’t blame you! I really don’t! It was the end of the world, and Zelos is well… Zelos, and…”

“Oh, Din, I have a letter from Zelos right here for Colette!” Sheena growled. “If you had just let go of me and let me do my job, you’d know that!”

Lloyd’s brain froze soon followed by a sigh of relief. “R-really?!”

“Yes, really!” Sheena pulled out a fancy looking letter patterned with badly drawn roses and the smell of Octorok perfume which seemed popular among rich idiots. It checked out so far. “You know, accusing someone of murder isn’t a great first impression.”

“I didn’t say you murdered anyone…”

Sheena blinked. “Uh. I mean! You just…” She coughed. “You were insinuating it! Will you just!! Take the letter already?!”

She was right. It wasn’t a great first impression. And Lloyd wouldn’t get do-overs anymore. He had to be more careful. But at the same time, it was nice to know things were truly coming back to normal again. He’d have to make it up to Sheena.

“I’m sorry. It’s been a rough time.” Lloyd backed off towards the counter near Colette.

Sheena scratched the back of her head, at a loss for words. “I… well… I get it. It’s okay. I mean, it’s not okay? Don’t do that again?”

“I won’t! Promise.”

“Okay. Good. Been trying to establish boundaries and whatever…” she grumbled. “Anyway, here you go, Colette. It’s good to see you’ve got a new helper too.”

Colette smiled, and that seemed to heal Sheena’s awkward pain. “Thank you, Sheena. I know you never have time, but if you would like, the offer for lunch always still stands! With Lloyd helping, Grandma has more time to cook, so it’s sure to be good.”

Already pushing through the door, the sun streaming onto her face, Sheena looked back. “You know, I think I will take you up on that offer! I don’t think I’ll be as busy. Talk to you later!” A rare smile touched her lips as she left.

“What do you think she meant by all that?” Lloyd asked, hopping back over the counter.

“Hm, I’m not sure.” Colette delicately opened the letter, careful not to hurt any ‘art’ on it. “Maybe the letter will explain?”

Across the paper, little doodles of Zelos on his balloon could be seen floating from the top left, down to him throwing confetti on the bottom right. It looked like a five-year-old had made it, but Lloyd supposed he had to give an A for effort. Colette gave a nod, signaling to Lloyd that it was okay for him to read.

_Hey Colette!_

_I’m making sure not to call you angel anymore, unless you tell me that’s okay. I’m writing this letter to apologize. I was a real jerk to you and a lot of people. It’s easy to blame my father and society and blah blah blah, whatever! None of that really matters. The point is, I’m sorry I was an ass, and I want to make amends to people and prove to myself that I’m NOT like my idiot dad!_

_So! Yeah. Sorry._

_I would have told you in person, but I’ve been helping Sheena with the mail lately. It’s been nice feeling like I’ve got a purpose, you know? This feels like something I’m good at, and I can help someone I like that isn’t me! Amazing right? Who would of thought?_

_Anyway, you probably didn’t need to hear all that. Point is, I’m sorry for all the awful things I said to you. You don’t need to forgive me! I’d understand._

_Buuuuuuut, it’d be real nice if you did! I’d give you my secret spell to a happy life for free! And here’s one on the house baby!!!_

_Kooloo-Limpah!! (Do NOT steal.)_

_Zelos_

“Aw. That’s so sweet,” Colette said.

“I guess…” Lloyd scratched the back of his head. He was just glad he couldn’t blame himself for a murder. It looked like Zelos was trying, too. That’s something right? … It’s… well it’s something. Everyone deserves a second chance. Lloyd got hundreds. It’s only fair to give that guy one more. … Maybe.

Speaking of second chances…

The door swung open and closed with a slam in the blink of an eye. A small blonde-haired boy ran through and scampered behind one of the potted plants. He wore a red bandana and a mischievous grin.

“Mithos?” Colette said.

He shushed her. “We’re playing hide and seek with the other kids, okay? Genis is way too good as a seeker!”

Lloyd put his hands at his hips. “I’m pretty sure the rules say you’re not allowed to hide indoors.”

Mithos’ eyes widened as if he’d been betrayed once again. “So what?! I told you, Genis always finds me way too easily! If anything, it’s unfair that he’s so good at it!”

“Mmm.” Colette frowned. Of course, there were nervous feelings dealing with this boy, what with him trying to destroy all life on the planet and all. But that was the mask doing that, right? “Okay, you can hide here, but don’t play any pranks with the guests.”

Mithos looked away. “I won’t.”

“That means even the Gorons!” Lloyd added, knowing all too well how gullible they were.

Mithos met their eyes with a fiery glare of his own. “I won’t!” His eyes softened. “I promise. It’s not the Bomber way.”

“All right, you can stay for a while,” Colette said. “Just make sure you’re back in time for supper with Professor Sage and the other boys.”

“Bleh, as long as Raine isn’t cooking…” Mithos grumbled, scampering up the steps to find a better hiding spot. He didn’t say anything more that Lloyd or Colette could hear.

“You think it’s okay to let him run around?” Lloyd asked, cautious.

“Honestly…” Colette turned to him, grabbing his hands in her own. “I’m not sure.” She giggled nervously. “I couldn’t say no. But at the same time, it’s kind of nice not knowing, isn’t it?”

Lloyd blinked, heart beating fast. “Huh? Hm… I guess so.” He held her hands tight, his eyes pulled to her smile and the snow bunny on the counter.

“I do know one thing! And I’ll know it no matter what tomorrow brings,” Colette said, her fingers running over Lloyd’s playfully.

Lloyd couldn’t help but grin, couldn’t help but pull her closer. “Yeah? What’s that?”

Her voice came out a whisper. “I’ll always want to be with you. No matter what happens tomorrow. Or the day after that.”

His heart felt like it’d been shot with fire arrows. Lloyd wrapped his arms around her, unable to help himself, and hugged tight. “Colette, you dork… that’s such a cheesy thing to say.”

“I know.”

“But I feel the same way. I always want to be with you, too. No matter how time flows, no matter what happens, I want to be with you. I love you, Colette.”

She sniffled, and Lloyd felt her arm shift to wipe a tear from her eye. “I-I, um… I love you too, Lloyd.”

They sealed their moment in time with a kiss, one of many to come.

“Hey…” Colette said, the sun in the sky dipping low through the windows. “It’s been slow, lately. Should we go play hide and seek with the kids?”

Lloyd’s eyes lit up, brighter than a golden Rupee. “Oh, man, I have got the BEST places to hide, Colette! You don’t even know!” Without a second thought, he hopped over the counter.

She giggled. “I know some good hiding spots too, you know!” She attempted to hop over as well, but her foot caught on the edge of the counter. “Ah!”

Lloyd caught her easily, their hearts pounding in sync, a wild grin across his face and wide blue eyes staring up at him. “I know all your hiding spots though. It’s not really fair.” He helped her down to her feet, pulling her along to the door.

“We’ll see about that!” Colette giggled, rushing ahead of him and out into the town, blanketed in stars and night.

The moon shone a gentle silver, barely noticeable among the other lights in the sky.


End file.
